Euphoria
by BrokenYetDreaming
Summary: Leah figured she'd never imprint. She gets the surprise of her life when she imprints on thirteen-year-old Nathan Harper. Leah thinks that finally—after the many tragedies that have happened in her life—things would soon start to look up. But being Leah, things aren't quite so easy. Why can't anything ever be easy enough for her? Fate was never going to leave her alone, was it?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a Leah/OC, okay? It's after Breaking Dawn! No imprinting on Renesmee or anything! And yeah, Leah imprints on a thirteen year old boy who is named Nathan Harper—yeah, I got the name from Abductinon xD**

**So I don't own Twilight or Abduction (I added this one in because I don't actually own the name. . .).**

**Check out my other stories, too!**

**Enjoy ;)**

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**_Euphoria_: A feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.**

_"I am with you for the extreme madness in me.  
Easy things are not made for me, I demand wildness!  
Happiness isn't good enough for me, I demand euphoria!"  
― Emma Brynstein__  
_

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**~*'Euphoria'*~**

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**BOOK ONE**

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**Chapter One: **

Everyone was happy, joyous, except for her.

Her pack members were with their imprints, smiling, passing around food, or Claire, telling stories. They took no notice to Leah Clearwater anymore, they had since when been accustomed to the isolated, bitter nine-teen year old teenage girl to offer her a simple hot dog. They knew that is offered, they'd get bitten—not literarily, but in that sort of sense.

Leah was off by herself, sitting alone, watching everyone around her with bitter resentment. She watched her ex-fiance, Sam, cuddle with her supposed cousin, Emily. She glared daggers at them, hating the mere sight of them together. She could feel the anger, the betrayal and hurt stir inside her, making her hands begin to shake lightly. Leah closed her eyes, trying to take the image of those two off her mind in efforts to calm herself.

It worked.

It was hard, trying to get her mind off them. She sometimes couldn't get the mental image of her being Emily. Perfect, loving, sweet Emily.

Leah bit back a harsh laugh, feeling the bitter emotions stir once more inside her. In her mind, Emily wasn't that perfect, anymore, with those God-awful scars she has. Perhaps it was a bad reward or a simple payback from God to Emily in Leah's wishes. That was what Emily gets for being Sam's perfect one.

Her pack members howled loudly with laughter. They were such dogs.

Even Jacob Black, a boy who usually maintained a sorrowful, scowling face, was smiling and laughing with the others, cracking lame jokes with his two best friends; Embry and Quil. Granted, none of them laughed at his jokes, which caused Leah's lips to lift up into a smirk.

Seth, Leah's little brother, was talking eagerly to Jacob's father, Billy, about the stupid legends her tribe carried. The legends that carried down her blood's damned history. The blood which made her and the others transfer into fur balls with big, teeth. Fur balls that hunted down parasites to protect her tribe. She knew Seth and Billy were talking about this—well, not exactly in her way—because of her superhearing.

Don't get her wrong, being a giant fur ball had it's quirks. Though, she still wouldn't want to be a fur bull even with the superhearing, strengths, eyesight, taste, super speed and all those lousy things. If she'd had an option between being a normal, average human versus being a giant, supernatural fur ball—she'd definitely choose being average. Like before.

The night sky was cloudless, letting the bright moon up there shine brightly. The stars around it were scattered all over the black sky, creating little specks of light for everyone. She didn't care how beautiful the scene look. She hasn't cared about star gazing since Sam and Emily. Leah just wasn't into the things she was into before all these messed up things happened to her and Seth. She hasn't been the same.

How could she?

How could she be the same after the boy she loved for so many years—had even gotten engaged—left Leah for her cousin, Emily, because they were soulmates. Sam and Leah felt like soulmates, complete and whole. They felt perfect with one another. What happened?

Their crazy genes, that's what happened.

Then, to add to her horrible misgivings—her Father died. Because of her. Because she turned into this giant fur ball.

Leah closed her eyes for a moment, the laughter from her pack drifting away. She was only focused on the past, on her dad, mom, and Seth. No Sam, no Emily, no nothing else. Just her and her family.

"Hey, Leah!" Seth called her over. "The legends are about to start!" he yelled, excited. Even after the many times they've heard these legends, Seth always found them more and more interesting. She, on the other hand, found them boring, useless, old children's tales.

She sighed heavily, willing herself to stand up and walk over to them—her pack. She would never of done it if it wasn't Seth's request. Leah couldn't deny her brother much, she loved him, and as he said "he was the man of the house". She snorted quietly—chiper, eager, happy little Seth be the man of the house? No, that was ridiculous.

Her strides weren't stiff, but they weren't graceful. It was more so a combination of both. Her strides were long, so she made it to the logs her pack had set around a big, warm fire in no time. She decided to sit next to Seth—who was staring expectantly at Billy—and kept her eyes on the glowing, reddish fire. She didn't want to catch Emily's pitying, sorry looks, or her mother's worried gaze. She wanted to stare at the fire, who wouldn't bother her in any least.

Billy began, his voice changing. At first, Leah found it wowing that Billy's voice changed when he told the legends, but now, she just found it normal.

Leah was bored by the middle of the legends—having heard them a million times already—and the fire wasn't that interesting. She looked up, only to be greeted by Jacob's eyes who were staring at her just as bored as she was. She looked away, indiffirent, staring outside her pack's little circle, to the ocean, to the other people the were out in the beach. A family was walking along them, a mother and her two children; a boy and slightly younger girl.

It was then, when the boy passed her, and curiously looked at her circle—wondering why so many big people were sitting around a fire—did something out of the ordinary happen to her. It hit her like a blow in the head, leaving her dazed—or like a punch in the gut, leaving her breathless. His eyes shifted to her's, and she felt gravity, the world shift around them, but nothing else mattered except this boy who had the most beautiful green eyes she'd ever seen. The world she knew vanished, and was replaced by him, this boy, this stranger. Every cell in her body wasn't working for her, but for this boy. He was her everything, her very existence. She know understood why Sam left her for Emily. Why they were the real soulmates. This was complete, and utter bliss. It was if everything she knew, learned, was completely wrong, because he, this boy, was the right thing—the most right thing in her world. She could never keep anything secret to him, he could know anything, have anything he wanted from her. . . she would do anything for him. . .

It felt as if something major she'd lost a long time ago, something she hadn't known she'd needed—like an organ, or her heart, her soul—was back, intact, alive.

This boy, was her soulmate. Her reason. Her everything. Whether he need her to be a sister, or a friend, she'd be there for him.

Leah Clearwater lived for him.

"No way," she heard Embry's distant shocked whisper, but she paid no mind to it. She was still focused on this beautful boy.

The boy looked to be around thirteen, with curly-ish, wavy-ish dark brown hair that reached his ears. His green eyes were a vibrant emerald, full of life, eagerness, brightness. They were so beautiful. . . they were framed by thick lashes. . . his skin wasn't as dark as hers, but much more lighter. . . he was tall, for his age, which pleased her. . . he was simply, perfect. He was handsome, his childishness traits were still present in his cheeks. They were still roundish, but Leah could tell he was beginning to mature. . .

"So, perfect. . ." she murmured, unsure is her pack members had heard her. She didn't care either.

"Nathan, stop staring at that girl! Haven't I told you countless of times that staring is rude?" a woman yelled, causing the boy's—Nathan to look away from Leah.

Leah waited with baited breath to hear Nathan's voice.

It took Nathan a couple of seconds to respond. He kept glancing at Leah for long moments, back at his mom for a fleeting second, then back at Leah again. Leah was pleased, and felt hapiness swell inside her. This shocked her—she hasn't felt hapiness, genuine happiness in a long time. It sort of repulsed her to know that she imprinted, that this Nathan was her soulmate. Another, the happier, part was esctatic. She could care less what her bitter side thought. Nathan was her Nathan. How could that repulse her?

Nathan seemed to be struggling to make words. He couldn't stop from staring at the girl much older than him—who was gawking at him too! She was undeniably beautiful. Very much so. She had short, black hair and darker russet skin than his. Her eyes were almond shaped, which a beautiful chocolate-ish color. She was so pretty. He couldn't think coherently, the strong emotions that hit him hard when he'd first caught her eyes was still swimming inside him. He couldn't think anything else, but her.

Of course, his mom had to make him look away. Did she always have to ruin great things, like right now? Couldn't she just wait until he was by her and Julie's side, and tell him that staring is rude—besides, he knew that already!

Finally, still keeping his eyes on this beautiful girl who—which thrilled him—kept locked eyes on his, did he speak. "U-uh y-ye-yeah!" he stuttered. He kicked himself mentally. He must of sounded like such an idiot.

Leah's eyes widened. His voice was perfect, smooth, clear, strong, husky-ish, firm. . . it was perfect. No denying that—even if he was stuttering. He sounded so adorable—was that a blush coating his cheeks?

She wanted to hear his voice again. And again. And again. . .

"Leah imprinted on a little boy!" whistled Paul rather loudly, making Nathan looked away from Leah. He looked up, bewildered, at the huge, buffed guy who was pointing at the girl. . . called Leah? He looked back at the girl—at Leah. It fit her perfectly.

But Nathan wasn't sure he'd heard right. What did this guy mean Leah imprinted? Didn't imprint mean to leave a mark, or something like that? And by "little boy" did he mean Nathan?

Nathan turned suddenly defensive—it was automatic, like one plus one is two—when the realization settled in his head. This guy did mean Nathan was the "little boy". He always hated it when his mom called him her little boy. It was just purely embarrassing! He was thirteen, goddammit!

"I'm not little," he spoke a bit more confidently, looking back at Leah, then at the guy. "I'm thirteen," he muttered.

Leah smirked, delighted that her. . . imprint had a back bone. She noticed that he was a bit confused, but waved that off, staring at Nathan openly, mesmorized.

Paul was going to pay later on, she decided angrily. Her imprint was certainly not little. He was big, he was thirteen. Not much younger than Seth! Or Paul! Paul and Nathan were just three years apart!

"Right," Paul snorted. "That's not little." he taunted Nathan.

She watched Nathan's first curl. She curled her own fist, and began to glare hatefully at Paul. He was so gonna pay. Nathan began to glare at Paul, too, which made Paul smile in amusement. Jacob was watching, shocked, as Leah's imprint glared at Paul. He was also shocked that Leah even imprinted—as was everyone else.

Leah was highly aware of the stares she was getting, she could hear the whispers, but wasn't paying attention to any of it. Why would she? She didn't care what people thought about her. She never has, and never will.

"Wow," Kim breathed, leaning forward to get a better look at Nathan just as Emily did the same. Even Sue leaned forward, curious to see her future son-in-law. He was young, too young for Leah, but he would grow. . .

Seth was smiling widely, it looked as if it hurt. He couldn't stop from imagining how well this Nathan kid played in video games. . . How often will he be at their home? A lot, Seth thought, since Leah would probably bring him over. . . or Seth, himself, would bring him over to play. Whoa, he was already getting ahead of himself!

Sam Uley didn't know what to think. He could understand the strong, fierce anger that stirred inside of him as he watched Leah stare at this boy like he was her everything. Sam didn't like that. One bit. He knew he was being unreasonable—Leah had a right at hapiness. This boy will help her, revive her, bring her back to them. Bring back the old Leah. But Sam couldn't help, but feel utter jealousy. Why had she imprinted? It was stupid of him to whine, to get angry. He should be happy! Happy for Leah! She finally found her one— she finally found what Sam found in Emily!

He hated the boy. Well, it wasn't hate, but more so dislike.

"What's your name?" Sue asked, much to Leah's relief. She knew Nathan was his name, but she could tell Nathan was getting uncomfortable from all the staring his was getting. He had yet to answer Paul beacause he was too aware of all the stares.

Nathan's emerald eyes fell on Leah's mother. "Nathan." he answered, and made an effort to smile despite his discomfort. "Nathan Harper."

Everyone's head jumped on the last name. Even Leah.

Why?

Because that would soon be Leah's surname, once Nathan and her get married. . . But before that, Leah would have to stop phasing and all that stuff. For the first time in what seemed like a million years, Leah could see a future that was bright, where she was truly happy. Next to her soulmate as Leah Harper.

"Well," Billy said, catching everyone's eyes. "Welcome to La Push, son." he greeted warmly, and held out a hand for Nathan to shake.

Nathan nodded, and cautiously walked over to Billy, accepting his hand. They both shook hands, and in that one instant, Nathan felt as if he were being accepted into something—but to what?

"Thank you, sir." Nathan said, politely.

"Billy Black." the old dude said.

Nathan nodded.

He then introduced the people—Nathan was aware that his mom was waiting for him—and finally, Billy got to the beautiful girl. He wanted to know everything about her for some reason. Nathan just could sit still without knowing more and more about this Leah girl. When they locked eyes, something shifted inside him, something dormant. It opened up new possibilities, a new him. A new him with Leah beside him.

"I'm Leah Clearwater," Leah's voice was clear, beautiful, and silky. He wanted to hear her talk more. He wanted to hear her voice more and more!

"It was a pleasure meeting you," he blurted out. The movies were the men were curtious stuck with him, and were being a good use right now.

Leah Clearwater met Nathan Harper on June eighteen, two-thousand and seven.

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**A/N: So, what did you think? I'm trying out writing Third POV, and I think it went good? Sorry if I switched too quickly between POV'S—did it bother anyone? I just wanted everyone's little thoughts to be shown, get what I mean?**

**Anyways, yeah, this is a Leah/OC! Should I just leave it is a one-shot? If you guys want to see more, then we will see some more action and more of Nathan later on! :) I have some action worth in the story thought up, so. . .**

**Also, I know I mentioned this already, but I have two other Twilight stories. One is a Jake/OC, and the other one is an Edward/OC (which I'm planning on re-writing)—I would be extremely glad if you checked it out! I'm planning on writting a Harry Potter/OC, so give me your thoughts!**

**Please review and tell me what you thought. It will make me happy! Is it worth continuing?**

**REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, I have decided to rewrite chapter two because it seemed like none of you liked it ._. Eh, but at least I had fun re-writing it! Oh, and yeah, I did decided to change the title, and the new title is _Euphoria_! So there ya' go.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, they made me extremely happy ^-^ : : :**

**_Love-to-experience_**

**_Inosolan_**

**_Somewhat Enlightened_**

_**Peace. Love. Hope. Faith. Books**_

**_NaeNae Lu_**

**_TintedLoveStory_**

**_Brazil girl_**

**Enjoy :)**

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**Chapter Two:**

It didn't seem at all uncomfortable talking to these big, buffy looking strangers. Nathan was surprised by this news, since he was usually a bit shy or awkward or clumsy when meeting new people. He was pleased to know that he was acting himself with them, and also relieved that he hasn't made a fool of himself in front of Leah. _Yet_.

Cold wind slapped his bare skin, touching his face and arms. Not once did he shiver. He wasn't cold, and that was a miracle to him—if his mother knew about him being cold. . . She would be really mad. Why? Because she had demanded him bring a sweater, which he unwisely said he wouldn't be needing. Guess he was right.

"Oh," Nathan suddenly said, his eyes drifting away from Emily, the woman with the scars on her pretty face. He wondered what happened to her, and felt a surge of pity for her.

"What?" Leah asked, attentive. His low word had went unheard by the supernatural fur-balls. How could it, when they had super-hearing?

Nathan's eyes stayed on the forms of his mother and sister, who were both pointing at the dark, night sky. His eyes went up, to stare at the small, twinkling stars, too. He forgot why they had come here. This made him frown.

"Nothing really," muttered Nathan. "I just, well, sort of ditched my mom and sister." he said, embarrassed.

Leah's lips curved a small smile. "Are you always like this?"

"L-like what?" Nathan asked, looking at Leah with wide-eyes. Had he done something dorky-ish? Aw crap. She must think he's a total looser.

"Acting like some sort of. . . gentleman? I mean, you're worrying about your mom and sister, as if leaving them alone for a couple of seconds is the worst thing in the world." Leah elaborated, rolling her eyes.

Nathan's cheeks began to flame. "N-no," he mumbled. "I blame the movies."

This made Leah's wonder soar. What did he mean by blaming the movies? "Huh?" It was all Leah could say without showing any excitement.

Her imprint ducked his head, his cheeks red, still, and stared at the sand pointedly. She wished he would look up, and stare at her with those irresistable green eyes of his.

"I watch a lot of movies." he said slowly, "Well, not really. I almost always re-watch movies I've already seen. I guess I could blame movies that show guys acting all gentle-manly. It sort of rubbed off on me. Is that a bad thing, Leah?" he asked, wanting to know her opinion. Saying her name sent tingles all over his body. It felt right saying her name.

Leah smiled happily. Her name rolled off perfectly from his tongue. "No, that's not a bad thing—it's a great thing, actually. Girls like a gentleman, trust me." She grinned as Nathan's face got a deep red.

"True," Kim butted in, much to Leah's dismay. She turned to glare at the Jared's imprint, but Kim didn't seem to have noticed her stare, yet. "We girls do love gentlemen."

Nathan noticed Leah's angry gaze sent towards the girl named Kim. Apparently, so did Kim's boyfriend, Jerry or something—Nathan forgot his name. Jerry glared back at Leah, saying through his eyes to back off. This made Nathan feel suddenly protective, and something in him stirred, anger, probably. He was glaring at Jerry, too.

"Don't look at her like that," he said to Jared, frowning.

Jared was startled by Nathan having spoken to him. He was shocked that the kid was even glaring at him—he resisted the urge to laugh. "And what if I don't want to?" Jared taunted.

Paul was snickering in the background, while stuffing two hot-dogs into his mouth at the same time.

"Stop," Nathan growled angrily. "And leave her alone."

Leah was now staring at her imprint with wonder and elation. He was protecting her from this lazy-ass called Jared. She wanted to hug Nathan, and hold him close to her. But she couldn't do that just now, because Nathan was angry, and that thing that made Nathan angry happened to make her angry too.

"It's okay, Nathan," she told Nathan softly, smiling. Then, she turned to glare at Jared and Paul. "Assholes."

"Look Leah," Jared held on of his hands up, while using the other one to hug Kim around the shoulders. "I didn't start any of this, the kid did."

Nathan's eyes blazed. "I'm not a kid." he said slowly. "Maybe _you_ are, Jerry."

This stopped Jared from responding, too stunned or confused. Leah bursted out laughing, and the others, minus Old Quil, joined her. Nathan was confused, of course, not knowing what he had said to evoke such laughter from them.

"Did you just call me Jerry?" Jared asked, while staring at his Kim, who was laughing too. Now Jared smiled. Anyone who made Kim laugh was good in his book—but seriously, why did the kid. . . er, Nathan, call him _Jerry_?

Nathan's eyes widened in realization. "Oh," he said, "you're name's not Jerry, is it?" He flushed.

Jared shook his head. "No," he chuckled. "It's _Jared_ not Jerry." He scowled at the latter name.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his previous anger evaporating. He looked at Leah who was still laughing, pleased with himself. At least he knew that he made that beautiful sound come out of her mouth. It was satisfying.

Leah hadn't laughed like this in a long time. She hadn't laughed happily for what seems like a long time; in fact, she'd almost forgotten to—or so she thinks. But in reality, the way to laugh had been stored away from her bitter self, and replaced with a bitter-harsh laugh that always used to come out nowadays. This laugh was happy, and it came out effortless.

"It's okay, Nathan." Jared shrugged.

"Well," Billy sighed, staring at Nathan with this curious glint in his eyes. "You said you're a Harper, am I right?"

"Way to change the subject, dad," Jacob grumbled, shoving a big hamburger into his mouth. Leah nodded in agreement, scowling at Billy.

Nathan nodded, unsure why Billy brought it up all of a sudden. "Yeah."

"Was your mother the Harper, or your father?"

"My mom," Nathan answered, frowning. "I never knew my dad. I mean. . . he only came once for a visit, and that was eight years ago—he got my mom pregnant, and left again. I never knew that man, and I wish not to." he said bitterly. He wasn't sure why he was telling them this, but he felt safe and reassured in telling them.

Nathan remembered that day, when his mom had been gone for a whole day. He had been staying with a neighbor—a friend of his moms, and he had been five at the time—and the woman, who he considered to be like an aunt to him now, Leila, told him that his mom was doing something. Nathan hadn't asked then what his mom was doing, because he had been too focused on Spongebob catching jelly-fish on the TV to really care what Leila had to say.

His mom later told him, when Julie was two, that his father had come to visit her. That man had lied to her, and told her that he had come to stay. They spent the whole day together—his mom and that man—which resulted in Julie. The next day, after waking up in a Hotel they had rented for a day, he was gone, leaving her there, a lone, like the last time when she had gotten pregnant with Nathan.

The days that followed were some of the worst days of his life. He had never seen his mother so broken, and had never seen her cry. He had always thought of his mother being a strong, smart woman that was a fighter. . . and seeing her all broken made him, cry too. He had been terrified by seeing his mother like that.

Needless to say, Nathan wasn't very fond towards his father. He made his mom suffer, and their lives wasn't easy, in fact, they struggled many times with rent, money. . . They used to live in a small apartment, with one little bed-room which they shared. He shuddered, thinking of the many times his mom had come working late, tired, and sleepy. Nathan always slept on the floor, without needing to be told.

"Are you okay?" Leah whispered to Nathan, who had this far-away look in his eyes. He looked back at her, smiling sadly, before nodding slowly.

"Y-yeah," he cleared his throat. He turned to Billy, "My mom's name is Kayla, by the way."

Billy nodded, noticing the sudden change in Nathan's mood, as did others. "Yes, I know her. We didn't talk much, but her grandfather used to talk with mine. Does your great-grandfather happen to be Coleman Harper?" he sounded interested, Nathan noted.

"I think so." Nathan shrugged. "I'm not really positive, Mister Black."

"Call me Billy," he chuckled.

"Billy." Nathan said, nodding.

It was getting pretty late, Nathan noticed, lifting his wrist and saw his watch. He squinted at the dark numbers, trying to figure out what time it was, but it was too dark. He was startled when Leah told him what time it was, "It's about to be nine. Just two more minutes."

"Wha—" he stopped, noticing just how close Leah was. His heart beat quickly, and his cheeks began to flame once more. "Uh," he cleared his throat again, "t-thanks, L-leah."

Leah smirked, knowing the effect she was having on Nathan. "No problem, Nathan." She sat back onto her seat, still smirking.

"I think you're mom's coming, dude." Seth said, pointing to the two figures heading their way over here. Nathan nodded, cracking his knuckles—it was a bad habit of his—and stood up, smiling down apologetically at all of them, especially at Leah, who was frowning.

"Yeah, she is," Nathan sighed, not wanting to go—he especially didn't want to go away from Leah.

His mom and Julie arrived shortly after the words escaped his frowning mouth. His mom, Kayla, was watching her son, and noticed his sad face. She raised an eyebrow, and observed the group he was with—she gasped in surprise, just having noticed a few familiar faces.

"Billy? Sue? Old Quil sir?" she said, blinking rapidly. "Wow," she breathed.

"Hello, Kayla." Billy smiled. "Long time, no see."

"Agreed," she nodded, smiling. "I see you've met my Nathan," she patted Nathan, ruffling his dark hair. Nathan flushed, making a noise. Leah was watching this! Why did she have to do this? Was she doing it on purpose! Why oh, why?

Julie giggled, noticing her brother's discomfort. She hid behind her mom, staring at all the people. She was slightly intimidated by everyone she saw, and slightly awed, too. She noticed that one girl, older than her brother, kept on watching Nathan. This made Julie curious, and so she continued to stare at the girl, who no doubt was pretty. Nathan was staring at her, too, but looked away, then back again.

"It's nice seeing you again, Kayla." Sue greeted warmly.

The others introduced themselves to Kayla, and Nathan stepped aside, letting his mom talk freely. This was good for him, since the more she was busy, the more time he had time with Leah.

Leah noticed, this too, and stared at Nathan. She looked at Julie, who was now standing behind Nathan as if he were her protector—Leah envied the girl, a little bit—and noticed that Julie was staring at her, curiously. Her brown eyes kept on flickering from Leah, to her older brother, then back again. It seemed Nathan was the only one with the green eyes; his mother and sister had brown eyes. . . so he must've gotten those green eyes from his father. . .

"So, Nathan, this must be your sister?" Leah suddenly said, wanting to talk to Nathan. His wide eyes turned to stare into her eyes, and she felt happy. Nathan nodded mutely, before looking down and smiled at his sister, who was clinging into his arm.

"Yeah," he chuckled, and playfully tried to pry off Julie from his arm. He stopped when she frowned up at him.

"How old is she?" she asked. After all, she wanted Nathan to speak. The little girl, Julie, didn't seem like she wanted to in Leah's presence.

"Seven," answered Nathan. "Too little, right?" he teased his sister, who again, frowned at him, now narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not little," she objected indignantly.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Sure you're not."

Before his sister could even argue, Nathan looked back at Leah, and grinned. "She's annoying, isn't she?"

Leah laughed, but shook her head no. It felt weird laughing, now that she thought about it. "No, she seems nice to me." This earned a smile from Julie.

It seemed good—it felt good, too—to talk to Leah. It felt right, even if he didn't know what to say to her. The atmosphere didn't feel the least bit awkward, not for him, anyways. It was deeply satisfying to talk to Leah, like it was his life's fulfillment. He liked it, and didn't want to go away from her presence.

His mom had other plans, though. "It was great seeing you all again, but I have to get these kiddies home. They start school tomorrow," she smiled down at her two children. Julie yawned, her mouth formed an _O_ that looked more like an oval. Nathan was wide-awake, and he felt saddened to think that he was leaving Leah.

"Aw," he sighed. "I wake up early—we don't have to go _now_." he protested, staring at his mother with wide-green eyes. Kayla smiled ruefully, rolling her eyes.

"That ain't working on me, mister." she teased, putting an arm around both her children's shoulders. She turned to look at the Billy and the others, smiling warmly. "Goodnight."

Everyone—except for Paul, who nodded, and Brady and Collin; who were playing a game on the sand, too focused to even listen at the woman—said goodbye back. Nathan's eyes gazed curiously at the two boys, wondering what they were playing. His eyes then shifted back to the beauty called Leah, and smiled.

"Goodnight," he said, while staring at her. "I hope we see each other again," he blushed, just having realized the words that escaped his mouth. His eyes widened. "U-um, I hope I see all of you, t-too." he stuttered out, blushing darkly. He felt like sinking on the spot, and vanishing. He was such a dork! Why say that, while staring at Leah?

Seth laughed loudly. "See ya' Nathan. We should hang out sometime," he suggested. Leah smiled at her brother, thanking him for the idea. Perhaps Seth would take Nathan to their house?

"Bye," Julie whispered shyly, and waved weakly.

Emily beamed at them. "We should do another bonfire. You're welcomed, of course!" she told them. Nathan was still surprised at seeing Emily's scars, but looked quickly away, knowing staring was sort of rude. Julie, though, forgot her manners, and gasped.

Emily's eyes turned to look at Julie, who was staring pointedly at her. To Nathan's surprise, Emily didn't seem at all bothered. On the contrary, she just smiled, still happy, and said, "I got these four years ago, sweety. They look horrible, don't they?"

Julie nodded slowly. Well, Nathan though sourly, at least she remembered the honesty is the best policy.

"I take pride in these." She pointed at the scars. "This is how Sam and I met, and fell in love, actually." She hugged Sam, who instantly wrapped his big arms around Emily's tiny form. Nathan looked from Emily, back to Leah, then to Sam. Sam had these dark eyes, these eyes that made Nathan squirm uncomfortably. Sam's face was blank, and Nathan got a sudden feeling that Sam didn't like him much. But when Sam looked at Emily, his face went from blank to happy.

"Weird," he mumbled under his breath.

He wondered what was up with this Sam guy. Nathan couldn't help feeling curious, and inspected Sam. Once, just once, did Sam break away from Emily's stare and turned to look at Leah with this unfathomable look in his eyes. It made Nathan feel uneasy, almost mad. He didn't know what the look in Sam's eyes was, but he knew he didn't like it. Leah stared right back at Sam, raising an eyebrow, and saying in a curt tone, "What?" Which made Sam look away.

This pleased Nathan a lot.

Turning to face Nathan, Leah smiled at him. This also pleased Nathan quite a lot. "Goodnight Nathan. It was nice meeting you, too. I hope to see you soon." Her laugh was like music to his ears.

As Nathan turned, and began to walk away with his mom and sister—who was giggling—that didn't lessen his buoyant feelings, though. As they walked away, he couldn't help, but grin like an idiot—or a dork.

Either way, he was immensely happy.

"I guess moving here wasn't such a bad idea, mom." he said, staring up at the soon-to-be cloudy sky. It was a beautiful night.

His mom sighed. "I know it wasn't, Nate. I had reasons to move here—not just because I missed home."

Nathan's brows furrowed. "Like what?"

"I'll tell you soon, hun. Not now, okay? It isn't the right time." Kayla said, staring sadly at her young son. Nathan merely nodded, detecting the sad tone in his mother's tone.

"Soon," he agreed.

Leah watched Nathan walk walk away from her, disappointment flooding her system. She yearned to follow him, but stopped herself, knowing that if she that, she would be considered clingy or needy. And Leah Clearwater was _not_ that. Not. At. All.

His scent remained with her, filling her nostrils with that perfect scent of his. She glanced at the Seth quickly, noticing Seth stiffen, and turn his head so that his ears were facing the direction of the woods. His brows pulled together, and he locked eyes with Leah suddenly.

"Do you hear that?" he asked loudly. Everyone stopped talking, and turned towards Seth.

"What Seth?" Jacob asked, his demeanor and tone turning into that of a real Alpha—Billy couldn't help, but feel proud seeing his son like that. After the Cullens had left, Jacob had returned to La Push and became the true Alpha of the pack. Now Sam was the beta.

Leah focused, trying to hear what Seth was hearing, just like the others. Seth stood up, all eyes following him—and that's when she heard it, and smelled it, too. There were two feet hitting the ground, lightly, and the air smelled sickly sweet. They weren't that near, probably a little bit off from Forks, but close enough.

"Bloodsuckers." Paul growled.

In less than a second, everyone sprang up from their positions. Brady smiled, sounding excited, "Alright man! Game on!" Collin gave him a high-five.

Jacob began to fire away commands, "Everyone, to the woods."

"Swee-eet!" Collin said eagerly.

"Brady, Collin, Nelson, and Derrick—take everyone else," Jacob looked at all the imprints and the elders while saying this, "and take them back to Emily's place. _Now_." he said firmly, watching the youngest wolves open their mouths to protest. All of them grumbled unhappily.

"Aw man," Collin and Brady whined together.

Leah's eyes widened. "Nathan. . ."

Jacob nodded, "After that, I want Brady to check if Nathan and his family got home safe. I'm sure you know his scent. Go, now!" Jacob ordered. Leah didn't feel at all reassured, and felt awfully sick in the stomach. _She _was the one supposed to go and check on him! She was beginning to stress out, and the wolf-pack wasn't being at all helpful to lessen her nerves with all the whooping they were doing. This was the first leech in about a _month_.

All the older pack began to run towards the pack, their nostrils filled with that sickly sweet stench. Their whole minds were set on one thing; get everyone safe. That was, of course, their purpose. And they also wanted to chase some bloodsuckers, too. That was part of the satisfaction!

"Alright, we're gonna kill some leeches!" Paul cheered.

"Shut up, Paul." Leah snapped.

Far off, away from the wolf-pack, a female vampire bit into a person's neck.

* * *

**A/N: So here is the next chapter! I introduced Julie and Kayla, and we know Kayla! Oh and Derrick and Nelson are some OC's I invented. We'll see more of them later on ^-^ Right now, this story has to be the one I'm really eager to write. I could do my own timelines, and not worry about following Twilight or New Moon like I am with my other stories; Phenomenon and Platinum.**

**Okay, umm, what else to say? Please don't go away now, the story is barely starting! New things and problems will arise, so please stay tuned!**

**Can I please get five reviews for this chapter? ^-^ It'll make me extremely happy!**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So here is the next chapter! Thanks for the last reviews guys, I enjoyed reading them, and they gave me inspiration. I hope you like this chapter! Also, if there are some mistakes, sorry, I'll correct them later! ^-^**

**Thanks for the following reviewers and the motivation! ::**

_**NaeNaeLu**_

_**Love-to-experience**_

_**Embrace1another**_

_**14natbug**_

_**THEPrincessx**_

_**Somewhat Enlightened**_

_**Guest**_

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter Three:**

"We missed it," Leah growled angrily. "That damned leech had luck this time, but it won't next time."

"_If_ there's a next time," Embry added in, sighing afterwards in exhaustion.

Everyone trudged towards Sam's and Emily's place quietly, too tired to even speak. It seemed like a long time ago since they had to chase down a leech like this one—a leech that was a bit too fast for them. Leah almost had it by the tip of her paws. . . but it dived right, making Leah miss.

Jared, Sam, and Jacob, and Paul were out there, still patrolling the woods and borders of La Push, just in case the leech decided to return. It seemed unlikely, though, Leah thought. It would be plain stupid in the leech's part if it decided to come back to this place, were twelve wolves were waiting for it, ready to kill it in an instant. Leah gave out a heavy sigh, blinking several times to clear away the sleep.

"Can't I go patrol, too?" Seth whined. He wanted to patrol with the others because he wanted to feel superior. He also wanted something to tell Brady and Collin later on.

"No," Leah said firmly. "You have school later on. I don't know why Jacob made you come along. . ." Leah scowled. She was going to have a word with Jacob next time she saw him.

Seth smiled cheekily, not seeming at all tired. "Maybe because I'm the best?"

Leah snorted, "Yeah right."

"Are you two going home, or are you crashing at Sam's place?" Embry said. He yawned afterwards, and stretched his arms above his head.

Seth answered for both him and Leah. "Naw, we're going to our place. Our ma' must be worried sick," he sighed. Leah merely nodded in agreement, and turned left—where the direction of their house was in.

"Alright then," Embry nodded. "G'night then."

"Night," everyone said to each other. Leah nodded stiffly, before getting Seth by the arm, and pulled him towards the right direction when he had unconsciously continued to walk towards Sam's place, where the scent of delicious muffins awaited all the guest.

Her little brother pouted. "Aw, can't we go and get _one_ muffin?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what?" Seth frowned.

"Because you have school tomorrow, Seth," Leah explained dully.

"You're right." Seth grumbled. "School. . . I don't want to go."

"Too bad. You're going Seth." Leah said.

"Hmm, now that I think about it," Seth grinned, looking at Leah, ready to watch her reaction, "I _will_ go. I might see _Nathan_ there, on his first day."

Leah's face changed. It went from tired, to happy. It was true, Leah realized. Nathan's first day of school started later on today, and he started highschool. . . "He's going to be in eighth grade," Leah said out loud.

Seth shrugged. "Probably."

They made it to their house quickly, and the lights were all off. Quietly, Leah opened the door, and ushered Seth in, before closing the door behind her. She glared at Seth when he almost bumped into a vase that would've fallen to the floor and shattered. He smiled sorrily, and began to tippie-toe towards his room.

This made Leah roll her eyes. He was exaggerating it.

Before Seth even closed the door behind him, he looked at Leah, smiling impishly. "Oh, and if Nathan talks to girls, be sure to know that I'll tell you, okay?"

He closed his door quickly, leaving a surprised Leah. Her hands clenched when she thought about what Seth had said, and wondered how many girls would be throwing themselves at her Nathan. A lot, Leah assumed, since he was a good-looking. She was angry now, and cursed under her breath.

Leah was now in her room, and quickly laid down on her bed. She couldn't sleep, despite how tired she was. Her mind was preoccupied about Nathan and other girls—would he date one of them? Would he like one? Would he fall in love with another girl that was not herself? This made Leah's heart ache, and she blamed the wolf inside of her.

"Damn Seth," Leah growled. Why did he have to tell her that?

When the sun rose, La Push residents could barely tell. The clouds were covering it mostly, but the sun managed to peak through to give off a tiny gleam of light. An alarm went off somewhere in La Push, and a certain green eyed boy grumbled to himself—something about him not wanting to wake up. He had been having a good dream that consisted of a beautiful girl he'd recently met, and a cake they'd baked.

He reluctantly opened his eyes. The world seemed blurry at the moment, so he rubbed his eyes to see more clearly. After a few seconds of this, Nathan blinked several times to make himself more awake. He yawned loudly, and looked at the time; six fifty-three.

Why had he woken up again this early? Oh yeah. . . school. Damn, school—Nathan's eyes widened at the sudden realization, and hastily got out of bed. It was his responsibility to wake Julie up, and make sure she got to school. His mom had already left to work—she'd left a letter on his nightstand to remind him what he was supposed to do.

_Nathan,_

_I'm at work, okay. Get Julie and yourself ready for school, and eat something before you leave. Eat waffles or something, but don't go to school with an empty stomach. Julie's school is close to yours, so drop her off, and pick her up, too, afterschool. Which reminds me, your school starts at 8: 10, and Julie's starts at 8. Get her to her classes Nathan, please._

_P.S. I'll be home around three._

_Take care babies. Love you,_

_Mom_

Nathan stared at the letter, frowning. He wondered what time she'd gotten up, and left.

He sighed, and placed the letter back on the nightstand, before taking two steps towards Julie's bed that was close to his. He always wondered why Julie never woke up to loud noises. What did wake her up was if someone shook her. Nathan did exactly that.

"Jules," he said softly. "Jules, wake up."

Julie blinked her eyes awake. "Hmm?" she hummed sleepily.

"Julie, wake up. Time for school." Nathan shook her lightly.

"Okay!" she grumbled, swatting Nathan's hand away. "Don't shake me anymore—I'm awake."

Nathan chuckled. "Alright Miss Moody."

Julie complained, but nonetheless got up from bed. She blinked up at Nathan sleepily, scowling at him, as if it were his fault that they had school. He could only shrug, and point at the clothes he'd set up for her first day. "Those are for today," he explained her still waking mind. "Get ready, okay? I still need to take you to your class," he sighed.

She made a face. "You don't need to. I'm already big enough to walk by myself." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Just get ready, Julie." Nathan said dully. "I have school, too, you know." His stomach twisted. He didn't really want to go himself, because, honestly, what new kid didn't? He dreaded the stares he would soon receive, dreaded the question and curious stares, the many questions. . . Nathan himself was a bit shy when meeting new people. It was safe to say he got so nervous, he usually stutters a lot, or when walking while nervous, he tends to be clumsy. Nathan already dreaded what was to come.

It took them less than twenty minutes to be ready. Julie and Nathan didn't have much of an appetite, so they left the house earlier than expected. Nathan locked the door behind him, sighing, and reluctantly turned towards Julie, who was frowning up at him.

"You don't wanna go to school either, huh." she said, kicking at the floor.

Nathan nodded. "No," he gulped, imagining the stares already. "I don't. Do you?" he asked while both began to walk.

Julie took her time answering. "No, no I don't. I don't see why we even need school." she complained.

"We need it so when we're older, we know how to do stuff, and get jobs, houses. . ." Nathan trailed off.

She considered this with a nod. "Yeah but, mommy went to school, and she doesn't have a very good job," she said matter-of-factly.

Nathan narrowed his eyes down at his younger sister—who didn't know anything about their mom's job or state. "Julie, just don't say anything, will you?" He knew he was being unfair, and that's why he was trying to keep his cool, but it was hard. His sister seemed to ignorant, innocent. . . She hardly knew anything.

Julie looked up, startled. "Did I do something wrong?" she worried, her bottom lips jutting out.

He sighed. "No, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm being a jerk."

"And a big one!" she giggled.

That was the end of their conversation. Both didn't want to say anything because kids around their age had began to walk on the route they were taking. Both were too shy to even talk, fearing eavesdroppers. Nathan took this as the chance to stare around the beautiful scenery that belonged to the Quileutes—tall, green, healthy-looking trees, fresh air, the sound of the near-by ocean. Up in the sky, dark clouds loomed.

"Crap," Nathan mumbled. "I forgot the umbrellas."

"Uh-oh." Julie said, smiling.

Julie's school appeared. It was so small. Nathan had expected it to be bigger, like his old school, but no, it was tiny. A small smile curled on his lips at seeing the miniture school, and at hearing Julie's loud comment: "It's a school for Chihuahuas!"

A little kid nearby began to giggle. Julie turned a bit red in the cheeks, and bit her lips. She looked at Nathan with wide-eyes.

"Here, let's go see your classes." he said, trying to get her to ease up a bit.

Julie settled in to her first class a bit reluctantly. The teacher had reassured both Nathan and Julie that she would make sure Julie would be okay and very comfortable. She also wished him good luck on his first day.

"Thank you Mrs. Birdie," he said politely. "It was nice meeting you." He flashed her a shy smile. The old woman smiled softly at him. Nathan said goodbye to Julie, before walking away with a farewell to Mrs. Birdie.

Soft prickles of rain stabbed unharmfully at his cheeks. Nathan swatted his bangs out of his forehead, and pulled them aside, knowing that if they got wet, they would be bothering his eyes. He hurried in his step, both because he knew he would be running late if he didn't, and because he didn't want to get sick. His mom didn't want him to get sick, so he would try his hardest not to.

The twisting and turning in his stomach became more prominent as he entered La Push Middle and High School grounds. It seemed a bit odd to him that they combined all fifth through twelth grade together, but shrugged it off quickly. He could already feel the stares following him as he walked, and he felt sorry for leaving Julie all of a sudden, wondering how she must be doing.

Nathan stopped suddenly, and looked around, trying to locate the Front Office. He knew that the office was always in the front of the school, but with him trying to keep his eyes low, it was difficult to look up, and not meet curious eyes. He cursed at himself and his shyness, and sighed. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears, and the soft, hitting little droplets of rain hitting his face wasn't helping the anxiousness he was beginning to feel. He inhaled deeply, trying to gain enough courage to ask someone for directions.

"Hi," said a low, timid voice. Nathan looked up to see a small girl, who unbelievably, looked his age. She had dark hair and eyes, and was cowering under a huge umbrella. Her hair was tied into a neat bun, and Nathan had a feeling this girl was a neat-freak person, and a very smart one, too. "You must be new, am I right?" Her tone implied that she was trying to be polite, but it didn't fool Nathan. She knew about him, his name and everything. After all, hadn't Billy said his Grandfather was well known?

Even knowing this, Nathan nodded, and forced a polite smile on his face. "Yeah, that's me—the new boy, Nathan Harper."

"Oh," the girl said, looking at Nathan, before looking away quickly. "I-I'm Amy. . . You want to know my last name, too?" she asked uncertainly.

Nathan couldn't help chuckling. "No," he said, feeling a bit more at ease. "It's okay. You don't need to tell me."

"It's okay," she said quickly, "my last name's Stone. Amy Stone—at your service." she said this with a slight, almost forced smile.

"Uh," Nathan was unsure what to say at that point. He then remembered he had no idea were he was, and decided; what the heck? "Yeah, I kinda do need help." Amy waited for him to continue, "I—where's the front office?"

Amy began to giggle all of a sudden, and her umbrella shook alongside with her. Nathan felt a bit insulted, but shook it away. It wasn't fair—he didn't know this school like she did. He sighed.

She stopped suddenly, turning red. "Oops, sorry about that." she apologized sincerely. That made Nathan less offended by her. "But, if you just turn around. . . You would see the office."

With great humiliation, Nathan turned. "Damn," he blushed. "U-uh, I guess, uh, t-thanks."

She smiled at Nathan. "No problem, N-nathan."

It was awkward then, for Nathan. He wasn't sure what to do from right there. Should he just tell Amy goodbye? Or should he tell her if she wanted to come along? The first option sounded good, because he could feel the awkwardness begin to creep onto the scene. Even if he did want to say goodbye to Amy, he had no idea how to. His mind had been diverted away from this girl, to another, beautiful, and perfect girl that had just arrived onto the school's ground.

An involuntary smile spread on his lips. He looked a bit dazed, Amy noted, frowning slightly. Had he got bored of her? This almost always happened to her, but this time it sort of hurt. This boy, this Nathan, had actually smiled at her while others would just look at her fleetingly. She grumbled under her breath, and turned to stare at what had captured this boy's attention.

Leah Clearwater had just arrived with her giant friends. She too, was staring at Nathan. And, like Amy predicted, Leah looked at her quickly, before looking away. Amy scowled now, and wondered why people acted that way around her. Was she simply. . . _that _boring? She knew she wasn't pretty. But she longed the look Nathan had on his face to be directed at _herself. _Was it too much to ask? Apparently, it was.

Amy had what Dr. Phil would say, "low self-esteem". She had to admit, she might have low confidence in herself. . . but still. Look now, though! She had actually been talking to this cute boy! No one had dared her. That, for Amy, was a great accomplishment.

"That's Leah Clearwater," Amy reluctantly said. She figured it would be the only way for Nathan to turn and stare at her again, and begin talking. Amy knew that when she first saw Leah and her big group, she had multiple of questions, that nobody really answered. At least she'll be a tour guide for Nathan. Amy suddenly wondered how Nathan must be feeling. When she first came to La Push two years ago, she felt, well, embarrassed.

Nathan averted his eyes to look at Amy quickly, and shot her a knowing smile. "I know."

She was stunned. "How—_how_?" she repeated stupidly, her brown eyes widening.

He shrugged. "Yesterday. At the beach."

"Oh," Amy said glumly. She really wanted to keep on talking to Nathan, but he was too busy staring and smiling at Leah Clearwater—who was _smiling _back at him—to even pay Amy any attention. She sighed, feeling a bit rejected as always, and began to wave goodbye before his green eyes flashed over to her's, and he looked a bit guilty.

"Sorry," he mumbled, flushing red. "I-I got distracted."

Amy resisted the urge to snort. "Yeah, I could tell."

Nathan noted the angry tone in her voice. He smiled apologetically. "Hey, so uh," he willed himself to stare at Amy, and not look at Leah, "can you lead me to my classes after I get my schedule? If you want to, of course," he added in quickly, trying not to be rude.

Amy stared at the flushed boy, and nodded quickly. How could she deny this cute boy anything?

Leah was not. . . so pleased.

She could hear every word Nathan and that girl—Jaime or Amy?—were saying to one another. She wasn't at all jealous. She just felt rather uncomfortable at the fact that many of the female population was turning to stare at the, "New cute boy." as some girls put it to. It left Leah scowling a bit. She was a bit grateful for this. . . Amy girl, because she was going to show Nathan around. But Leah would've preferred Seth to have done that. . . but _no, _Seth had woken up late.

"So, l-let's go?" the girl asked shyly, and began to close the gigantic umbrella she was carrying. This made Leah snort. It wasn't even raining _that _much!

Nathan nodded, and observed the girl while she was closing her umbrella. "Yeah. I guess." He smiled at the girl, and asked, "Do you want me to carry it, Amy?" Leah smiled at this; Nathan was just trying to be polite. She watched the girl's reaction, and saw her swoon a bit.

"U-uh," she paused, and quickly looked away from Nathan. "N-no thanks."

Seth suddenly put an arm around Leah's shoulders, and sighed heavily. "Stalking Nathan, are we Leah?" he teased, grinning impishly at her. He too, stared at Nathan as he entered the office with this girl. He frowned. "Who did he go in with?"

"Some shy girl named Amy." Leah said flatly. "Apparently she's his tour guide for the day."

Seth snickered, "And you're not happy about it?"

"No," Leah said, giving her little brother a glare, "I do like it. At least he has someone to show him around—I don't think he'd like it much if he walked around, confused and lost, for the whole day."

"Yeah," Seth acknowledged. "But some other girls would've helped him. Look at that poor Amy girl. She's being sent nasty looks!" he muttered incredulously, his eyes widening. "Wow, girls. So complicated. . ." he sighed, shaking his head. Leah slapped him in the head, and made a face.

Before Seth could even say "ow", a wolf's howl interrupted him. The sound was strong and significant, containing authority and a warning. Both Leah and Seth became alert, but Leah's eyes followed Nathan, who was staring at her once more, with shocked green eyes. His face roamed her's, before he waved and smiled shyly. He must've muttered the word "bye" because his lips moved. He was then dragged away by that Amy girl, who took him inside, already foreseeing the many students that would be flooding the halls—pushing and shoving. They knew danger was near, their subconsciousness told them that. It was an instinct shot off, but still there, ready and alert.

Leah sighed annoyed, and began to walk towards the woods. She turned back abruptly, which made Seth nearly collide into her. "Whoa Lee!" He glared at her. "Don't do that!"

"Stay here," she ignored his protesting. "I'm sure Jacob doesn't need all of us. And if he does, I'll howl twice." she instructed, narrowing her eyes at Seth. "Go to class Seth, and. . . and try your best." She smiled, before she began to jog towards the woods.

Seth frowned. "Bye! And you better howl!" He thought about something for a moment, before saying, "I'll take care of Nathan for you!"

"Goodbye, Seth!" Leah shook her head, but felt a rush of gratitude towards him. She had been feeling worried about Nathan, wondering if he was safe. Her mind then went to Seth, and again she wondered when her brother would learn that school was highly more important than some meaningless pack call?

When she was hidden in the safety of the woods, she smelled the air. She could smell a faint trace of leech, but it was barely there, contaminating the air. She decided to walk in deeper, before phasing. And suddenly—once she had found the perfect spot to phase—she felt the familiar tremor run down her spine. All of her muscles jostled as if being electrified, and shook. Her muscles and form began to change rapidly, changing, expanding. . . silver fur grew out of her larger body, and a snout was now present were the mouth should of been.

Leah Clearwater wasn't a beautiful, female human being anymore. No more was she simply exposable to the predator lurking in the woods, hunting down prey. Now Leah was a giant, beautiful silver wolf. Strong, and quicker, and just. . . a supernatural fur-ball.

_Took you long enough_, Paul muttered angrily, his nostrils filled with that sickly sweet-scent. He was farther away from were Leah was—near the school—which made her a bit more relaxed. _Where's Sethy boy? I thought he would've come. Oh, don't tell me; you made him stay?_

Leah growled under her breath. _Shut up you lousy dog. Keep on sniffing._

Embry laughed. _Oh, she got you owned!_

_I'm no dog, you dumb ass_. Paul growled.

_Guys, focus, _Jacob suddenly said. _We have a bloodsucker near, and I think it's the same one as yesterday._

Leah was almost near them. The smell was getting more hideously prominent in her nose, and she mentally grimaced. _Filthy parasite._

Jared snorted. _We've been inhaling this all morning! So don't complain, Leah._

_I can complain all I want, _Leah snapped. _Back to work, you flea bag.  
_

_Flea bag?_ The whole pack chorused, before some started to laugh. Leah scowled, and willed her legs to push faster against the ground, and get near them. Oh when she was close to Jared. . .!

Jared winced at the images in Leah's head that involved him. _Aww! Paul was bothering you too!_

Jacob sighed annoyed. _Play time is not the time right now, guys. _he reminded them. _Focus, sniff, and locate. _

_Focus, sniff, and locate? What am I, some police dog? _Embry grumbled. _Can I go back? I'm tired. _He complained.

_N—There! To your right, Leah! _Jacob suddenly yelled. All the pack members present ignored their playfulness and laziness, and began to run where Leah was at. Leah, on the other hand, took one long sniff in the air that burned her nostrils, and ran towards the direction it was coming from.

_Go Leah! _Quil cheered.

_Shut up, doggy. _Leah sneered.

_Aw, we thought you were back! _Jared fake-pouted.

_Fo. Cus. _Sam reminded. Leah had forgotten he was there.

She was the fastest out of the whole pack. She felt smug because of that, and tended to always show off. And right now, she felt like showing off. She was the only fastest one to be able to reach the damned leech. Leah wasn't even tiring herself out, while the others were trying their best to catch up. Leah laughed mentally, and leaped over a fallen tree.

And there it was. The bloodsucker.

It was running quite fast, Leah admitted. The leech was running like hell was approaching it; the bloodsucker looked like an angel, but Leah knew better. It's golden hair flew behind it. Then, to check what the heck was following it, the leech turned, it's ruby eyes staring surprised into Leah's, before a smirk formed on her lips.

"Wolves?" she asked incredulously, before going up to a fallen tree, and picking it up with one hand. Leah wasn't sure what to do at this point, because she knew that the leech intended to throw it at her. Leah barred her teeth threateningly.

_Don't do anything reckless, Leah! We'll almost there! _Jacob growled, clearly in the lead.

Leah rolled her eyes mentally. _Does it look like I'm gonna really jump in, and get thrown a tree? Do you really think I'm stupid?_

_YES! _Paul laughed.

She couldn't answer Paul, because she had to dodge last minute when the leech finally decided to throw her the damned tree. Leah dodged swiftly, and her tail graced the trunk just slightly, but it was enough to make Leah enraged. How dare that filthy leech throw her that!

Leah charged, her vision a red haze, but the leech looked clear, ready to be demolished.

This time, it won't have the same luck as yesterday night.

* * *

**A/N: Ahh, so I end it there! \('-')/ I included more of the pack, and Nathan-Julie bondness as well as Leah-Seth. I enjoyed writing those scenes, they were fun and effortless.**

**I introduced a new character; Amy Stone. She's shy, yup, and a bit awkward with her jumbo umbrella ._.**

**So, do you like this chapter? Sorry if there wasn't enough Leah/Nathan interactions -.- Can you all please give me five review again? More than five would be appreciated, just hinting. . . lol. **

**Please. . .**

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, so I just wanted to clear something up; Leah seems perfect to Nathan because, duh, he's her imprint, which means he's her soulmate. Which also means Nathan seems like some sorta angel because well, he's her imprint. . . Every wolf finds their imprint the most beautiful person ever; look at Kim and Jared—Bella said Kim looked plain, but said the Jared stared at her like some sort of Goddess. So. . . yeah.**

**Also, the reason the pack was surprised the Leah imprinted on a "little boy", was because, c'mon, it's _Leah Clearwater,_ the badass girl. The tough girl! She. . . just. . . imagine _her _imprinting on a "little kid"! Wouldn't you find it a bit humorous, and a bit shocking, too?**

**Sorry for updating THIS late ._. My laptop's charger ripped D: And well, my laptop is out of battery. . . and I don't have money. . . But thankfully, my older brother let me use his laptop and allowed me to write Chapter Four for Euphoria. Wow I'm so amazed at the amount of reviews i got! O:**

**I loved reading everyone one of your reviews guys! They make me _so _happy! ****Thanks to the following TWELVE (wooo!) reviewers who reviewed chapter three! \(^o^)/ ::**

_**wood-morning**_

_**littleditto**_

_**Somewhat Enlightened**_

_**Guest**_

_**hgmsnoopy**_

_**NaeNaeLu**_

_**Love-to-experience**_

_**Mimi**_

_**Guest**_

_**214gnatbug**_

_**teddymonsterbear**_

_**wildedge**_

**Enjoy ;)**

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

Something felt terribly wrong.

Nathan could feel the change in the atmosphere. He could also smell something awful, like a girl having put on a lot of perfume. He cocked his head to Amy's direction, trying to pass it off casual, and sniffed the air—she wasn't the one smelling of perfume. Nonetheless he flushed, embarrassed at what he had just done.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, her brows furrowing. She glanced at his scrunched up face in mild interest, wondering what smelled so bad to him. She hoped it wasn't her—that would be just so horrible.

He shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he admitted, because he actually didn't know _what _was wrong. "Something's just. . . different." He was having trouble wording how he felt. He looked around warily, trying to locate his source of worry, but found that to be almost impossible, since he lowered his eyes immediately when he found curious eyes all over the place, meeting his own.

Amy nodded absent-mindedly, shrugging it off. "Maybe it's just the nerves about being new to here," she suggested while Nathan opened the door to the office door, and let her in first before he followed after. This left her blushing.

He wanted to say that it wasn't just that, but that it was something much more. So, he simply said, "Yeah, that's probably it."

The old lady behind the counter looked aggravated when both Nathan and Amy turned to face her. She was grumbling something under her breath, and didn't look up at the sound of Nathan's voice. She just stretched out her arm with a paper—that happened to be Nathan's schedule. He mutely reached out for it, while staring at the old lady with furrowed brows, and opened his mouth to ask something, but decided to close it.

Amy's mouth appeared beside Nathan's left ear, and she whispered, "Ask. She's not as mean as she seems." Then she pulled away, and stared up at him expectantly.

He raised his brows at her, unsure. Amy simply gave him the thumps up, with a small smile on her lips.

"Trust me," she mouthed.

"Alright," he sighed under his breath, choosing to trust her. He turned his attention back to the lady, and cleared his throat. The lady didn't even look up. This made Nathan get rather nervous, but when he turned to look at Amy, she simply encouraged him to speak louder with her hands. Her frowned, cleared his throat again, before staring at the lady. "Excuse me," he began, "but uh, when do I have lunch?"

"_I_ know that!" Amy exclaimed, a tad irritated. After all, he could have just asked her!

This just dawned onto Nathan's head. He blushed darkly, and bit on his lower lip. "Oh, y-yeah." was all he could say.

The old lady looked up, raising an eyebrow. "You could of just asked Miss Stone over there." She pointed at an exasperated Amy.

"Y-yeah, I just, er, realized that."

"Is that all you need, Mister. . .?"

"Harper." Nathan said quickly. "Nathan H-harper."

"So you're a Harper, hmm?" she asked with pursed lips. "Haven't seen any of you Harpers for years," she sighed, shaking her head while studying Nathan. "Are you Kayla's? Do you have siblings?"

Suddenly, the bell rang, making Amy squeak in surprise. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Nathan pleadingly. "Can we go? I don't want to be late." She has never been late, and she doesn't plan on being late to class—ever. She asked for Nathan's schedule, to which he handed to her quickly, sensing her need to rush. She scanned his schedule, and sighed in relief when she saw they had _all _their classes together.

Meanwhile, Nathan smiled at the lady awkwardly, and apologized for both Amy and himself. "Sorry, but we have to go."

"Yeah, yeah." Amy nodded quickly.

"Don't worry about it." the old lady said, sighing heavily. "Good day to both of you."

"Have a good day, too." Nathan mumbled with a small smile as Amy grabbed a hold of his sweater's sleeve, and practically began to drag him out of the office.

"Bye!" Amy called over he shoulder. The door closed after them.

Nathan began to laugh suddenly, smiling at Amy afterwards. He found her need to be in class in time amusing, which made Amy blush in return. She maintained a scowl on her face, trying not to smile. Nathan wasn't paying attention to where he was going because he trusted Amy on taking them to class. Instead he was observing the halls, looking for anything interesting. So when Amy stopped suddenly, her hold on his sweater's sleeve dropping, his attention shifted back to Amy.

She was staring at the three people standing in front of them. The boy in the front was rather huge, taller than Nathan himself. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a smirk was present on his smug looking face. A girl was standing behind him, who happened to be eating Nathan alive with her dark brown eyes. He shifted his attention away from the somewhat pretty girl, and to the boy next to her. He too remained the same way like the boy in front of him, but unlike the leader of the group who had eyes almost black, he had light brown one's.

Amy seemed frightened.

How could she not? These same people have always taunted her—she shuddered from the memories.

She squeezed her eyes when the bell rang in her ears, indicating the class had started.

Without _Amy_.

"So you're the new kid," the leader of the trio muttered sending an uninterested glance at Nathan. "John, was it?"

"That's not even close to my name," Nathan said, and took a step forward so he was standing in front of Amy. He had noticed the leader's eyes trained on Amy with some intent that made her squeak behind him.

"Then what is it?"

"Nathan."

"Pretty lousy name, if you ask me." he chuckled. The other two joined him in his unnecessary laughter. "So I see you've made friends with Lamey over there." He pointed his chin in Amy's direction.

A frown curled down his lips. "What did you call her?" Nathan said, anger lacing his tone. Now he could see why Amy had stopped, and why her face masked one of fear. These were bullies, and he did not like bullies. "Her name is _Amy_."

The pretty girl stepped forward, a fake, sweet smile on her face. "We know. But Lamey's her nickname—she is the lamest person I've ever met. Plus, it rhymes, and," the girl paused, her eyes traveling to the big umbrella in Amy's other hand. Nathan shifted his body so he was fully covering Amy from their view. The girl noticed this, and raised an eyebrow.

"Leave her alone," Nathan snapped, uncaring of the sweet smile on the girl's face. "And she's not lame. She's way better than all of you."

Amy felt touched. No one had dared to protect her, or stood up for her. She gazed at Nathan's back with a new perspective.

"Look kid," the leader said, a sharp edge to his tone, "don't mess with us. There is a lot more than us. Watch out if you don't want to get beaten up or else—"

"—or else what?" Nathan cut in, glaring fully at the bigger guy in front of him. His fist balled in wanting. He had never wanted to sock someone's idiotic face than right now.

Amy was beginning to panic. "Don't." she whispered. "Please. I'm not worth it."

"You are," Nathan mumbled. "Don't say you're not, Amy." To Nathan, it was much more than just Amy's injustice that angered him so much. He wanted to end all the bullying. End all the unfairness bigger kids had on kids like Amy, or even himself. He hated people who didn't treat others as their equals. Everyone is equal to one another—they just have to get used to the idea if they didn't like it.

The big kid, Peter, stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, and a snarl curling on his lips. "I warned you," he growled, taking another step forward, "don't mess with me."

Nathan sucked in a lungful of breath, trying to gather up all his strength and power. He too, began to crack his knuckles, trying to look intimidating. "You messed with Amy," he snapped, "so in return, you ended up messing up with me, too." He was surprised with himself; where had he gotten that courage in his voice? The bravery? He liked it.

Fists flew.

Amy screamed.

It was all so terrible! Nathan shouldn't be fighting! Amy's vision turned blurry, and she wondered idly who the heck was screaming—until she found out it was herself. She cringed when Nathan's face met Peter's fist, but felt a bit satisfied when Nathan's own fist came to contact with Peter's face.

Anyone could tell that Nathan was inexperienced at fighting. He just threw himself into a fight that was pointless, Amy thought, panicking. Why would he do that? She wasn't worth it! But even thinking that, Amy was happy that someone was fighting for her—she was happy that someone at least cared enough about her feelings to stand up for them.

She was so into her thoughts, that she didn't notice Peter's two main followers; Kristen, his girlfriend, who had been eyeing Nathan, and Stan, his second in command or sorts—retreat from the fight. Amy, Nathan, nor Peter heard the approaching footsteps of Principle Knott until it was too late.

"What on earth is going on here!" he demanded, out-stounded.

Nathan jumped away from another fist coming his way. He dodged Peter's _other _hand, and crashed downwards, towards the floor in result. His back contacted the hard floor first, and the real pain began there. He gasped in pain, squeezing his eyes shut, the blood in his nose pouring out.

"_Nathan_!" Amy gasped, and ducked down to make sure he was okay. But Nathan pulled himself up from the ground, shaking his head at Amy, and tried to smile at her in a reassuring way.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. "Honestly."

Peter was smirking. "I won."

The principle, Mr. Knott, shook his head, furious. "Again, Mister Wack? How many times do you want to get suspended? Do you have some sort of record, goal, limit?" the words spilled out of his mouth as he inspected Nathan's bloodied face. "And you must be Mister Harper," he sighed. "Follow me to my office—all of you. And yes, that includes you, Miss Stone."

Amy squeaked, widening her eyes. "But—but—"

"No buts, Miss Stone." he said dully.

"But—but—"

"I said, _no __buts_." his tone was sharp.

Amy sighed, defeated.

Nathan stood up, all the while cupping his nose, and holding his head up. He let out a shaky breath, cursing at his rashness. He should't have gotten into conflict! His mom is going to be disappointed—and Nathan didn't like it when his mom was disappointed with him. He sighed again, and hoped that the principle wouldn't call his mother.

He could only hope that everything would turn out all right.

*'*'*

Suddenly, lunging didn't seem much of a grand idea anymore.

Leah couldn't turn back anymore, though. She had a duty she had to do, and that was to kill this monster, and finish it's killings. That is why Leah was even brought into the world for; to diminish the Cold Ones.

The leech dodged Leah's sudden attack, diving gracefully to the left. Nora, the blonde leech, decided that it was time to flee—she could already hear the other mutts approaching the scene, and knew that she was going to be outnumbered soon. Flight or fight? _Flight _seemed rather appealing at the moment.

_Don't let her escape! _Paul growled, leaping over the fallen tree Leah had before. The pack was right behind her, and Leah couldn't wait anymore. The leech had decided to flee like a coward.

_Too scared. _Leah muttered, somewhat smugly.

Embry snickered. _Yeah, too scared that you'd miss it. . . again._

_Shut up, Embry! _Leah yelled furiously. _I'll catch the leech—you just sit back, and watch the show._

Both the leech and Leah ran at ultimate speed. Wind whipped at both their faces; furry or naked alike. If a normal mortal were here to witness this spectacular, somewhat racing game (or more like hunting game), everything would just be a bizarre blur.

The leech, Nora, could barely feel the ground beneath her feet. She could care less about anything, but the wolves that were beginning their hunt. She happened to be the prey—but not a weak prey at that. Nora smirked, and turned swiftly, causing the gray wolf following her to halt for less than a second, before it continued it's pursuit. Nora spread her arms above her head, and ran full speed at the wolf, curious to see what it did. Curious to see if it was stupid.

It wasn't.

It leaped upwards, barely avoiding Nora's sharp nails.

The wolf landed loudly onto the floor, before turning around to snarl at Nora. It pawed on the ground furiously, and had this intent to murder in it's eyes.

"Why so serious?" Nora crooned with a sweet, too sweet, fake smile.

Leah pounced.

_Why so serious? _Leah growled furiously inside her head, making most of her present pack mates to wince at the undivided hatred aimed towards the leech. _I'm just ready to kill it! _She ran at full speed, her mouth open to display her various sharp, pointy teeth. The leech looked startled for a moment, before blinking it away.

_Who knows how many it's killed? _Embry thought suddenly, unaware that he was the only one thinking this. _I mean, did it ever get startled when she killed somebody?__  
_

Immediately, everyone's mind raced. Those who had imprinted had their minds focused on their imprints. They shuddered to think that their mates, soul mates, murdered. . . killed. . . turned. Leah was distracted, and didn't notice she'd stopped for about five seconds—she was thinking about Nathan's dead, lifeless pale corpse inside a casket. The pain the image carried was unbearable.

Seeing the gray wolf momentarily distracted, Nora decided to pounce. And not softly, nor carefully, but hard with intention to damage—to _kill_.

Leah's breath was knocked out of her lungs. Pain surged on her left side, and then on her right side as she was slammed onto a splinted tree's bark—the splinted parts digging into Leah's skin, and shooting more pain into Leah's body.

_LEAH! _Jacob yelled.

Nora smirked, and began to run, but before she was even out of Leah's earshot, she turned around, smirking, "Why so serious?" she taunted. Then she sped away with all her might, sensing the tension in the woods.

_Go, Jared, Sam, Paul! Chase after it! _Jacob commanded. Jared, Paul, and a reluctant Sam began to go in the different direction their other three pack mates were heading towards in urgency.

Paul whooped. _Hell yeah! The master has arrived!_

_Don't. _Leah growled suddenly, panting. She winced as she tried to stand up, but the ache in her sides was making it hardly possible to stand. She heard their worried comments, but growled once more, _I said: don't. I can take care of myself. Go after the leech. __  
_

_Leah—_

_I don't need help, Jacob! _

_But—_

_Embry, don't get me more angry!_

_Uh, Leah—_

_Shut up, Quil._

_We were just trying to help._

_I said leave me alone!_

Leah knew she was being harsh. But the embarrassment was flooding in, and she hated feeling embarrassed. She knew her pack mates had nothing to do with her missing the leech. It was all her fault for getting distracted.

_No, it was me, _Embry began, _I should have just kept my stupid mind shut, and—_

_It's nobody's. _Leah sighed. _Run after it, you big-headed dogs._

_Hey! _Jacob, Embry and Quil chorused.

_Run. After. It. And. Leave. Me. Alone._

It seemed Leah hash't changed a bit. They all thought she'd change after her imprint on Nathan—like many of the other wolves, such as Paul. Paul isn't as hot-headed as he was before he'd met Jacob's sister, Rachel. Now—now he's a bit more controlled, and more tamed. They had hoped Nathan would do this to Leah, but it seems like a "no".

Just because Leah imprinted didn't mean she was going to change! Leah, too, had thought she'd changed when Nathan's own green eyes met her own. Thankfully, that was not the case here. She was still the same, mean, badass Leah—she smirked mentally when thinking this, but winced again as she tried to move her body forward. It was true, though. Leah was still the same, but with Nathan constantly in her head.

_Leah, go home. Jacob sighed. You're obviously hurt if it hurts to move—maybe the leech did serious damage to you,_ he growled worriedly, yet still furious. _You see! You shouldn't have been so—so RASH!_

_Shut it Jacob. I'm going home—not because you ordered me to—but because I want to. _

She was reluctant to leave her pack. She wanted to stay here, and chase after the leech, but Jacob was right. Leah's whole body was beginning to ache rather painfully now. But then again, when hadn't Leah been accustomed to pain? It was natural, but this sort of pain; physical, was not as common to her as mental, emotional pain.

_Damn! It passed the treaty line! Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT! _Paul yelled loudly inside their heads. He was rather disappointed, which made Leah smirk in return.

Before anyone could talk, or come help Leah—despite her harsh warnings not to—another head entered their's. It was a rather chipper one, a familiar head that always had happy, curious thoughts. Not today, though. Right now it was rather distracted, and a bit worried, yet slightly surprised and amazed.

_Seth?_

_Seth._

_Seth! _

The pack finally yelled, trying to catch Seth's attention. Indeed it did.

_What's wrong? _Leah voiced, worried. The pack was curious as to what made Seth feel mixed emotions.

He was suddenly guilty, and pawed at the ground. He was near the school grounds, but a bit deep into the woods so no school ditcher could see or catch him. He sighed, and let the images unfold out of his head, letting them in display for the pack.

It was Nathan, with a bleeding nose. He was worried, and a bit ashamed, but then he looked up, and glared angrily at a boy they all recognized as Peter Wack. The boy, Peter, merely smirked smugly, and turned back, walking with ridiculous swag. Amy was walking, more like sulking, next to Nathan, with her head cast down. All three of them were following Mr. Knott, the principle.

"I'm sorry," Nathan's voice was filled with remorse. He put a hand on Amy's shoulder—and from Seth's perspective—and gave it a slight squeeze. "I'm so, _so _sorry. I should't of—never, never—shouldn't of."

Amy looked up at him, and shook her head weakly. "No. Don't say that. Thank you, for defending me, though." She paused, "Does it hurt?"

Nathan grimaced. "No."

Amy didn't seem to believe him. "Tell me the truth." Her voice too, held remorse.

"O—okay. It hurts. A lot." He grimaced again, touching his left eye, closing that one eye in pain.

That was all Seth could see before they turned the corner. He couldn't see anything anymore—and he was panicked. He had to show Leah before she found out with her very two eyes, wondering what had happened to Nathan.

Everyone was silent for a second. No one spoke, awaiting Leah's thoughts.

She was angry, and worried, and confused, and—and—

_I'm sorry Lee! _Seth suddenly yelled. _I—I didn't keep my promise._ He vowed his head.

Despite the pain in Leah's body, she found strength. Energy. She began to sprint towards Seth's direction, towards Nathan's location.

_Don't worry._

She had to make sure he was alright.

She herself, shouldn't worry. Everything was going to be alright.

She could only hope.

* * *

**A/N: Not much, I know. Was it boring? No—Yes?**

**We got to see some of Nathan's protective/fiercer side. He sucks at fighting :P Hahha. **

**OH! By the way (yeah I'm aware of the fact that I could've just written BTW) I have decided to write this story into two parts, hence why in chapter one you see "BOOK ONE". "BOOK TWO" will be more so in the future, with Nathan fully grown, blah, blah, blah. Hahha, anyways, sorry, again, for not having updating this story (blame my charger).**

**Please, can I get five (or *hint, hint* more, please) reviews? I'm already half-way through chapter five, and it's much MORE interesting, trust me! :D I will update/post Chapter Five as soon as I can!**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Umm, no Leah does _not _love Nathan in that. . . way xD She just loves him as a little brother, and she's there to protect him and all that stuff. Nathan, though, is a _whole _'nother story. He has a crush on Leah :P And yup, it _would _be creepy is a 19-year-old girl and a 13-year-old kid started up a relationship ._.**

**Leah is just fuzzing over Nathan. She doesn't want to loose him like she did with her dad and Sam.**

**Anyways, _long_ chapter! :D I'm not sure if it would bore you, but play close attention to some parts, okay? It's vital to the plot, I guess ^-^ Sorry if there are a lot of mistakes, I'll correct them soon—I just wanted to get this out at Five ;P**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys—they help motivate me and everything! :D Thanks to the FOURTEEN reviews (and to others who bothered to read, too—for me that's all I want; for people to give Euphoria a chance, so thanks if you're reading this!)****:**

_**wildedge**_

_**Embrace1another**_

_**14natbug**_

_**Love-to-Experience**_

_**littleditto**_

_**teddymonsterbear**_

_**Somewhat Enlightened**_

_**Stranger p**_

_**Aileen**_

_**NaeNaeLu**_

_**stoneslay96**_

_**ShadowCub**_

_**Guest**_

_**anon1**_

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter Five:**

"You three must know why you are in trouble, yes?" Principle Knott said, a sharp edge to his tone. He surveyed the three students standing in front of his desk with a stern gaze, and sighed afterwards. "Well, don't just stand there and look at me! Answer!"

Nathan shifted uncomfortably, and met the Principle's piercing stare. Right off, could Nathan tell he was strict, and he also knew that Nathan hadn't made a very good first impression. He vowed his head, and stared down at his feet, trying to gather anything inside of his head to say something. Sadly, all his mind could think about was him being in trouble, and the guilt—the guilt in bringing innocent Amy into this.

Peter cleared his throat, smirking. "Um, why do we need to answer, when you already know?"

Principle Knott glared at Peter. "Don't start being a Smart Cookie with me, Mister Wack." His eyes turned towards a horrified looking Amy, who looked at the verge of tears. "And you, Miss Stone—I had expected much, _much _more from you. You should have broken up the fight!"

"Yeah, and then she would have gotten all beaten up," Nathan suddenly said, looking over at Amy. "There were two other people with him," He pointed at Peter, "and they somehow left before you, Mister Knott, arrived at the. . . scene."

Mister Knott didn't say anything for a moment. He just surveyed the three students in front of him once more, his forehead creasing. Wrinkles appeared as soon as he did so, and an exhausted expression over came Knott's face. "Detention. All of you."

Peter shrugged. "Alright."

"But—but what about his other two friends!" Nathan yelled, clenching his fists. "They were there, too!"

"Yes, indeed they were, Mister Harper, but they weren't involved in the fight."

"Amy wasn't either." Nathan tried, but failed to keep his tone normal. He wanted to yell. It was unfair that Amy—who had nothing to do with the fight—get in trouble, while Peter's friend didn't, and they _were standing there, too!_

"End of discussion, Mister Harper."

Nathan sighed angrily. Knowing he would get much more in trouble if he kept on talking back to the Principle, he bit his tongue and kept his mouth shut.

"Very well then," Principle Knott smirked. "You will all get two weeks of detention—an hour after school starting tomorrow. Do you understand?"

Amy squeaked out a barely audible, "Yes."

While Nathan muttered, "I understand." He was starting to dislike his new Principle more and more as the seconds ticked by. The fury made him want to lash out at Principle Knott, and it truly scared him.

And Peter just shrugged. "Nothing I haven't went to, anyways."

"Out. All three of you."

Nathan sighed in relief; his mother hadn't been called. He almost whooped in pleasure, but remembered his punishment, and who had been dragged along with him. He stayed close to Amy, ignoring Peter, and lifted a hand to her shoulder, squeezing it gently. He wasn't sure _how _he was going to make it up for her, but all he knew was: One way or Another, he was going to make Amy forget about this situation.

All three of them walked out of the Principle's office, silent. They had been ordered to go to their current class, and both Nathan's and Amy's happened to be Language Arts. He sighed, and scrunched up his nose. He did _not _want to go anymore.

**Period 1: Language Arts—Teacher: Ms. Huard**

**Period 2: Social Studies—Teacher: Ms. Huard**

**Period 3: Algebra—Teacher: Mrs. Foxx**

**Period 4: Science—Teacher: Mrs. Foxx**

**Period 5: Art—Teacher: Mr. Miller**

**Period 6: Physical Education—Teacher: Mrs. King**

That had been, or is, his schedule for the rest of his eighth grade year.

The bell rang suddenly, indicating the end of First Period. Had it really been an hour since he first stepped into this school's ground?

Students began to file out of class, into the hallways, chattering or groaning. No one paid attention to Nathan, Amy. . . Peter, apparently (not before saying Nathan was going to pay with "his life"), had left already. This was a huge relief to Nathan, aside from the threat, and—unavoidably—a smile crept on his lips. He felt as if he weren't a new kid anymore. He felt as if he were back at his old school, except the obvious differences is that these people were total strangers to him, and his left eye hurt—and his nose felt odd.

"So," he breathed, "lead me to class." He tried to make his voice chipper, but not too chipper to make Amy upset.

Amy nodded mutely, not looking at Nathan, before she began to lead him to their class.

Suddenly a voice yelled, "NATHAN!" Amy whimpered; she did _not _want to be late to class. "_Nathan_!"

The voice was oddly familiar. But who could it be? The name was just at the tip of his tongue, but it seem as though he couldn't _say _it. His eyes searched the crowd, trying to find the voice that seemed to be calling him, but stopped short when Amy tugged on his sleeve.

"Please," she pleaded, "let's go to class, okay?" He nodded, and reluctantly stopped searching for the voice's owner.

But the voice, it seemed, wouldn't stop until it caught Nathan's eye. "Nathan!"

People were beginning to turn heads, having heard the voice too. There was a murmur of confusion, and many eyes met his own. Nathan flushed, lowering his eyes. "Maybe there's another Nathan," he said in a hopeful voice.

"Yeah, there's about two more Nathan's," Amy added in helpfully. "So it must not be you."

"That's probably it. Yeah."

Though is wasn't, for the voice yelled, "NATHAN HARPER!"

Said boy was blushing now. "It's me, alright."

"Ignore it." Amy pleaded. "We gotta get to class."

He nodded.

"NATHAN—NATHAN! Turn around!" the voice yelled once more. It was much closer than before.

Sending an apologetic look at Amy, Nathan turned—somewhat curiously—to stare at the person who seemed very desperate in getting his attention.

Seth Clearwater was waving, and he was getting a large part of student's attention. He ignored them, though, and yelled once more, "_Nathan_!" Once he saw Nathan's eyes staring up at him, Seth absorbed his face—Nathan looked okay.

"What does he want?" Amy groaned.

Nathan shrugged, murmuring, "I really don't know."

Seth quickly walked over to Nathan, and smiled half-heartedly. "Have you seen Leah?"

An image of Leah's pretty face popped into Nathan's head. He was momentarily dazed—an involuntary smile crept on his face. All he could say to Seth was, "Uh-uh."

He was unaware of the puzzled look Amy was sending him. "Nathan, we have to go." She turned to the big kid named Seth, "Sorry, but we _really_ do."

Seth shook his head, smiling. "Don't worry. I just wanted to ask Nathan if he was okay." Then his face turned grim.

Nathan broke out of his trance, and stared at Seth questioningly. "Y—yeah, I am. Why?"

"Your eye." Seth said in an obvious tone.

This caused the other boy to turn red. "Oh y—yeah."

"Does it hurt?"

"N—no." Nathan felt oddly uncomfortable lying to Seth.

Seth gave him a stare that clearly said that he didn't believe him. He gave Nathan one of his rare, stern gazes, and sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair that reached his ears. "Look, please just. . .," Seth paused, and thought hard for a moment before he sighed again. "Nathan, if you see Leah, tell her you're okay, alright?"

Nathan was over-whelmed. "S—sure. But why?"

"I don't want her to worry." Seth gave him a small smile. "She's sort of. . . a worry-rat, I guess."

To Nathan, it sounded as though Seth was wording his words carefully. Nonetheless, the words pouring out of Seth's mouth made Nathan's heart flutter. Leah was worrying over _him_—Nathan! But why would she worry about him? They had just met just yesterday!

"Nathan," Amy said sharply, and unexpectedly tugged on his sleeve. "We have to go!"

"Sure, sure." Nathan murmured, distracted. He turned to Seth, grinning. "I guess I'll see Leah later. . .? And you too, of course," he added in quickly, trying to keep off the hopefulness in his voice. It seemed as though he failed in succeeding this, because Seth smirked, and laughed a buoyant laugh.

Seth turned, still laughing, and headed towards his class with one small wave directed towards Nathan.

"Phew," Amy murmured, "I thought we would never get away from him. Let's go." She grinned.

Nathan's day was. . . bearable.

He had expected to see Leah in the halls. That was the only explanation about why he was peering over the crowds with a red face, ignoring the various stares he was receiving, hoping to catch a glimpse of Leah and make this day better. For all of his classes he had been required to stand in front of the whole class, and present himself to them. He hated being the center of attention, and when he was the center, he usually stuttered. A lot.

Many guys were taunting him, but Nathan managed to ignore them too, flushing while doing so.

Lunch was both welcoming and repelling.

In lunch, he would be excused from being in front of the class, presenting himself. But he dreaded the cafeteria, were almost everyone from all the years would be present. Granted, some might not be at all interested at the new kid, which was a huge relief to Nathan. Then again, he couldn't read minds or see the future, so he didn't know what to expect from anyone.

Amy was silent beside him, thinking over a tricky question Mrs. Foxx had asked them. His earlier assumption about Amy being somewhat of a nerd were proven to be correct. He smiled down at Amy, shaking his head, and told the Lunch lady he would just want a slice of pizza and a water of bottle.

Both of them walked through the talkative cafeteria, both their eyes trying to find an empty spot. So far, their attempts were looking to be more so futile.

"Is—" Amy was cut off when someone pushed by her (accidentally, of course). She sighed heavily, before staring up into Nathan's frustrated green gaze. "What?" she asked quietly, self-conscious. Was he mad at her?

What he said next surprised her. "Why do you let yourself be pushed around?" he asked, his face softening at Amy's own sad face.

She shrugged. "What can I do? I'm weak, and well, I don't really know how to fight. . . and I don't want to get in trouble, either. . ." she trailed off in a whisper.

Nathan opened his mouth, but stopped when Amy opened her own mouth, too.

"Is that Leah Clearwater?" she added in quickly, trying to distract Nathan. She didn't want to discuss her being a push-over. Her distraction worked like a charm; Nathan's eyes widened as he caught sight of Leah—and Seth too. He happened to be standing next to her.

Leah's eyes looked from one table to another, trying to find Nathan over the many kids surrounding her and Seth. Many stopped and stared at the two siblings, wondering why they were watching the crowd like hawks. Leah's eyes met a girl around Nathan's age with startling exquisite brown eyes. Leah remembered her name was Kristen; a stuck up girl who looked down upon the ones who weren't as "fabulous" as her, as Kristen herself had put it as.

Kristen stared at Leah, her brows furrowing.

But Leah never really cared about Kristen, so she looked away.

"Damn," Seth grumbled from beside her, "I hadn't realized how crowded the cafeteria could get."

"That's because you're too busy groveling over your food." Leah rolled her eyes.

"But he's okay, though, alright?" Seth said after a pause. "He said so himself."

Leah wanted to hear Nathan say it himself.

"Maybe he's not here," she whispered more to herself than to Seth. "Maybe he's in the library, with that geeky Amy."

Seth rolled his eyes, smiling. "Don't call Amy geeky, or _lamey_. Nathan hates it. He's protective over her," he chuckled, but stopped short after the glare Leah shot at him. "Okay. . . I'll shut up now."

Leah huffed. "Good."

"No need to be mean about it."

"I thought you said you were going to shut up," Leah retorted.

Seth was searching the crowd, opening to his mouth to talk back to Leah when he spotted Nathan. "There!" he exclaimed, startling a few kids passing by. "He's over there!"

He was pointed to their farthest right. Through the many kids, Leah could pin-point Nathan out, with his curlish hair. He was standing right next to Amy, who had this satisfied smile on her face. Nathan was staring in Leah's and Seth's direction, and he seemed a bit out of the loop. Leah turned to Seth with one, dark brow, questioning the look on Nathan's face.

"He's just excited to see you, it's all." Seth waved his hand in the air, which caused Nathan to snapped out of the trance he was in, and turn red in the face. His green eyes flickered to Leah's own dark brown ones, and he smiled shyly.

He was so shy, Leah realized. A tug curled her lips up into a small smile as she began to push kids out of the way to be where Nathan was at. Seth was following closely behind her, muttering apologies to those who protested indignantly. Leave it to Seth to be the nice one, Leah thought fondly of her brother. Leave it to him.

She was two feet away from Nathan when she stopped. He stared up at her with confused, yet delighted green eyes. He waved slowly, and cleared his throat, looking away from Leah for the first time, and stared at Amy instead. Amy had been staring at the floor all the while, and looked up when Nathan put a hand on her shoulder, clearing his throat.

"Er, this is Amy," he introduced. "Amy Stone."

Leah jutted her chin out in greeting at Amy, her lips pursed, causing Amy to sigh nervously, and move a bit behind Nathan—this, of course, went unnoticed by Leah nor Seth.

There was a brief silence. It was interrupted by Seth's loud stomach, announcing how hungry he was. Seth laughed it off, "Guess I'm hungry, eh?"

Nathan merely smiled. "Get something to eat."

He frowned suddenly, and Leah's brows furrowed. She huffed loudly, and Nathan's green eyes flickered up to her, curious. Leah shook her head, and looked away from him, just having realized how whipped she was turning out to be. Worrying over Nathan, when he could clearly stand up for himself? She groaned internally. She had made fun of the other imprinters for being so whipped. . . now look at her!

Leah's teeth clenched in frustration at herself.

"Well," she said suddenly, "I have to go."

Seth turned around to stare at her, alarmed. "Huh?" He thought the whole point of coming here was to see if Nathan was alright. Sure she saw that Nathan was alright and there was no reason for her to stay. . . Honestly, though, why did she suddenly want to leave? He frowned.

"I need to go," she repeated. "I have stuff to do." Her eyes traveled towards Nathan for the briefest of seconds, before fleeting away quite quickly, and staring out the windows, into the woods. "Bye."

"Bye?" the farewell left Nathan's lips more like a question than a statement. It puzzled Nathan how much he was disappointed in Leah leaving. He barely knew her, for Pete's —no, not _Petes_—for Nate's sake! There, he liked that _much _better.

Leah nodded her head somewhat stiffly. "Like I said, I have stuff to do."

Nathan turned red in the face. "Oh, s—sorry." He lowered his head, embarrassed at himself.

It seem as though she was going to open her mouth, and apologize, but then she thought better of it, closing her mouth after a pause. She shot Seth a stare when she saw him open his mouth, one that meant to keep his mouth close. It was a typical Leah-stare he'd gotten used to, yet it was alarming to see the stare once more.

All three of them watched as Leah walked away from them, her strides big. Soon, she was out of their sights, and out of the school property, phasing deep in the woods.

Nathan felt as though something inside of him had been taken away from him, leaving an empty space behind. It was an odd feeling to experience, one he had never felt before.

Seth was the first to speak, and he sounded annoyed. "Sorry 'bout that. Leah's a bit grumpy today," he chuckled half-heartedly.

"Was she mad at me?" Nathan couldn't stop himself from asking.

"No," Seth said quickly. "Why would you think that?"

Nathan shrugged, looking down.

"It was nice meeting you," Amy intervened, sensing Nathan's discomfort, and foreseeing this Seth's voice upcoming questions. She figured Nathan could do without that. "But we're a little hungry."

Seth nodded. "Sure, sure. I'm hungry too, and my friends are waiting for me. . . bye." He waved, and began to weave through the various kids around him, trying to fight his way towards the lunch line that was, thankfully, almost empty.

Nathan looked up and waved to Seth's retreating back, sighing. "Thanks, Amy."

His new friend smiled. "No problem. Now we're even."

He couldn't help from smiling. "Alright, if you say so."

The rest of the day passed by in a surprisingly fast blur. It seemed a huge relief when the bell rang at the end of his last period, P.E. He put his new P.E. clothes away in the locker he was assigned, and locked it. He sighed and leaned against the wall, letting the others pass by him. He made a new friend, sort of. His name was Dean Rooke, and he was still dressing back to his normal clothes. Nathan had agreed with Dean to wait for him, since they were going to walk together.

Dean was just two inches shorter than Nathan. He had the usual brown eyes and dark hair he'd been seeing a lot lately. Dean smiled a bit apologetically at Nathan, shrugging. "I like taking my time."

"No problem," Nathan said, watching his watch. He was going to have to walk fast if he was going to make it to Julie's school in time. "Can we walk a little fast?" he asked, and knowing Dean liked taking his time, he added in, "I need to pick up my sister."

"Oh alright then." Dean sighed. "So. . . you're friends with Amy?"

Nathan looked at Dean, furrowing his brows. "Yeah, so? Does it bother you?"

Dean shook his head, detecting the frustration and annoyance in Nathan's voice. "Not at all. It's just. . . you might get a bit _more _beat up if you keep on hanging out with her." He eyed Nathan's purple eye.

The green-eyed boy sighed. "Who cares?" Nathan didn't care about the fighting part; he cared more about the getting in trouble part. "She's a really nice, smart person."

"She's _lame_." A snide voice said from behind them. Both Dean and Nathan turned to stare at Kristen, who was chewing rather loudly on a gum, and observing her nails rather than looking at them. "I mean, _everyone _knows she's so lame. Right Dean?"

Dean blushed, and nodded. He happened to have a major crush on Kristen. "U—uh I guess."

Nathan clenched his fist, and narrowed his eyes. "She's not fake."

"Are you saying _I _am?" Kristen said, mocking hurt.

"Think whatever you want. Goodbye."

He turned to leave, but someone grabbed his wrist. He was going to yank it away from whoever it was without looking, wanting to let them both know that he didn't care if Amy was lame or not—he didn't believe she was—and he wanted to show them that he didn't care what they said. But the voice Kristen used on him made him freeze.

"Please," she said, using a soft voice, "I'm so sorry."

Something inside of Nathan wanted to run away from those wide brown eyes Kristen had. He didn't want to believe in her innocent act, but how could he not when she seemed so sincere? He sighed, and smiled smally, looking a bit guilty.

"I guess it's alright. I'm sorry for acting like. . . a jerk." He blushed.

Kristen smiled, a shy, warm smile that tugged Nathan's heart. He felt his face getting hotter when he realized Kristen was still holding on to his wrist. He began to stutter an apology, but decided against it. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself.

"It's okay. I was being rather evil earlier on, wasn't I? So I deserve it."

"B—but still—"

"I _deserved _it," she said firmly, but still the soft smile remained on her pretty face. Nathan shook out of the trance he was in, and he immediately felt guilty. An image of Leah's popped into his head—she looked disappointed and hurt. Nathan wanted to say that he thought Leah was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, but Kristen interrupted his thoughts. "Please."

No one could have resisted the sweet, pleading look Kristen had on the moment. Nathan's head went blank, and he was utterly speechless for a moment. Kristen waved a hand on his face, amusement clear in on her face. This snapped Nathan out of his blank-mode, and he stared at Kristen's face for less than a second, before stuttering out, "O—okay," and blushing.

"Nathan," Dean said sharply, a bit jealous. "Let's go. We need to pick up your sister, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Nathan gulped. "Bye, and sorry." He made a dash for it, and began to walk away as quickly as he could. Dean matched his pace, with a bit of difficulty, but managed.

Both walked in silence, and Nathan feared he'd messed up his new friendship with Dean by talking to Kristen. He glanced at Dean out of the corner of his eyes, and saw that he was staring straight ahead, with a thoughtful look in his face.

"I'm sorry," Nathan blurted out. "I just, I don't know why—"

"She's just like that. She could make people be _wowed _by her. You experienced her talent today," Dean chuckled weakly. "I mean, I know she doesn't like me. . . but it gets me jealous when I see her flirting or talking to other boys. Stupid, I know."

Nathan was quiet for a second, before, "No, not stupid." He didn't know how he'd react if he was Leah with some other guy. His eyes widened, surprised as a new face popped into his mind. The face was that of Kristen smiling, right next to Leah's scowling one.

All he could think was that it was so wrong. So, _so _wrong.

Dean sighed loudly from beside him. "But you ought a admit, she _is _pretty."

Nathan flushed, shrugging. "I guess."

"How can you _guess_? It's obvious she is! And. . . watch out with her, okay?" Dean said, a hint of warning behind his tone. "She can make you do anything, trust me. She's sort of. . . like a manipulator—well, that's how my older sister put it as to."

Nathan could see how Kristen could be one. He nodded, considering this, "Yeah, I felt her powers." His face warmed.

"Just watch out with her, man," Dean said. "Besides, I think she won't leave you alone. . . she wants something from you—I could tell by the way she was acting around you." Dean frowned, wondering.

They walked in silence. Nathan had gotten uncomfortable with the new information Dean had given to him. Dean knew Kristen more than Nathan did, therefore he knew how Kristen acted, and _why _she acted like that.

When they got to Julie's school, they both waited outside, searching for Julie—though Dean just stood there awkwardly, trying to locate a little girl that might look like Nathan. About ten minutes passed, and Nathan began to get anxious. He glanced at Dean, smiling apologetically.

"You can go," he said, sighing.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Nathan nodded. "You're mom might get mad," he reminded Dean. Dean had told Nathan earlier, that his mom didn't like him to be late at home.

Dean hesitated. "Oh, alright. See you tomorrow man—I'll wait for you. . . and Amy in the front." He shot Nathan a small smile, waved, and walked away.

Nathan began to weave his way through the many little kids, and into the office. The woman behind the desk had a warm, kind smile—he'd wished _she _was in _his _school. The woman behind his desk didn't make him at all nervous, unlike the other one._  
_

"Hello," she greeted warmly. "How may I help you, dear?"

Nathan blushed. "I was wondering if my sister's class was still. . . in?"

"Let me call," she suggested. "What's her name?"

"Julie Harper."

"Oh, yes, yes." the woman mumbled, searching for something in a paper, before picking up the phone by her desk, and dialing a number. She pressed the phone to her ear, and gave Nathan another warm smile. "Hello, Mrs. Williams?"

The woman waited, before speaking again. "Oh well, I have Julie Harper's brother waiting here in the office, wondering. . ." She paused, listening to the teacher. "Ah yes, oh, alright. Thank you, yes, yes, goodbye." She smiled, before hanging up. She stared up at Nathan, "She's in tutoring. Your mother will pick her up in an hour or so," she explained.

"My mom?" Nathan repeated. "Okay. Thank you very much."

"No problem deary, but," she furrowed her brows, watching him closely with worried eyes. "What happened to your eye?"

Nathan's face fell, and he felt it warm. "U—uh nothing."

She frowned, not seeming to believe him. She sighed afterwards, smiling. "Well, if you say so. Bye sweetie, have a nice day."

He nodded, and began to walk away. Before closing the door after him, me mumbled, "You too," loud enough for her to hear.

The first thing he thought while walking was; _luck is on my side for once_. After all, he had more time to think up an excuse. The second thought was; _what am I gonna do with this limited luck_? He _still _didn't know what he was going to tell his mom, because to be quite truthful, he rarely lied to his mom when she asked him something. It was something he was going to have to break someday, he guessed.

He'd been longing to go to First Beach again, so he quickly speed-walked to his house, dropped off his backpack, locked the door—before practically running to the beach, eager for some fresh air and making it there in less than five minutes—the beach wasn't far away from his home. He glanced around the beach, noticing almost no one was there.

He walked for a few second in the sand, before stopping.

Nathan stood there, doing pretty much nothing but staring out into the horizon, searching for answers. He didn't want to really lie to his mom, but then what else was he supposed to tell her? He got in a fight? Then what if. . . word got around, and she found out by others, and not him? What if she found out he lied to her?

So many questions, yet little known answers.

He unwrapped his red jacket from himself, and left it down on the floor, sighing. The warm breeze hit his cheeks in a calming manner, as if trying to reassure him. It helped a bit, but not by much. He was still anxious and troubled. So deeply troubled within himself.

La Push's beach was rather beautiful, Nathan noted. The word beautiful popped up to his head, and two faces appeared on his head; Leah's. . . and Kristen's. He shook his head, trying to get rid of Kristen's face. It was useless. Kristen had somehow—much like Leah—wormed herself into his mind, and wouldn't leave his thoughts. He was confused; who did he like?

But he remembered Kristen's bad behavior towards Amy. . .

And he remembered Leah's angry face earlier today. . .

Both had their flaws, sure. . . and both were beautiful. . . but what really counted was the inside, Nathan reminded himself, flushing. Not just the beauty outside, but the inside a girl was worth more.

Why did today turn out to be so damn complicated?

"Hey, Nathan!"

Nathan turned around, alarmed. A familiar person was standing a few feet away from him, with his arms crossed over his bare chest. He was giving Nathan a raised, unimpressed, eyebrow. Nathan shifted uneasily, remembering that this guy happened to be one of Leah's friends.

"U—uh. . . hi?" Nathan said awkwardly.

Instead of introducing himself, the guy said, in a flat voice, "So you got in a fight." It wasn't a question.

Nathan's eyes widened. "H—how d—did you know about t—that?" he almost exclaimed. Had word gotten around? What if his mom found out?

The guy grunted. "A little birdie showed me."

"Peter." Nathan muttered. "It was him, wasn't it?"

"No," said the guy. It was silent for a moment, before the guy decided to speak again. "I heard you sucked," he snickered.

Nathan blinked several times. "W—what?"

"You heard me—you _sucked_."

"I—I. . . No I—I didn't it!"

"Did the other kid look as messed up as you?"

Nathan was silent, before, "His eye was messed up, too."

The guy raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He smirked.

"I don't need to tell you anything!" Nathan fumed. "Who are you, anyways?"

"You forgot about me," the guy feigned a hurt look. "I'm Paul."

The name rang like a bell inside of Nathan's mind. He stared sheepishly at Paul, muttering a low, "Sorry 'bout that."

Paul let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't apologize!" his voice boomed loud, making Nathan take a startled step back. Paul sighed heavily, and shook his head. "Don't apologize," he repeated himself much more calmly.

"Why not?" Nathan asked, getting confused.

"Because, _you _didn't do nothing, my boy." Paul plopped down onto the sand, where he had just been standing. He gestured for Nathan to do the same, and waited until Nathan was sitting beside him, staring cautiously up at him, to speak. "Learn how to be cool, not some—some _idiot_."

Idiot? Nathan?

"How—how. . . am I being an idiot, exactly?" After all, Nathan didn't see how apologizing made him an idiot. It just made him polite.

"Well first, it makes you seem weak." Paul held up his hand when he saw Nathan open his mouth to protest. "Second of all, you will be made fun of if you're a teacher's pet. And we cool kids don't like teacher's pet. Got that down inside of that head of your's?"

Nathan made a face, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not a teacher's pet."

"You will be if you continue to be a suck up to them."

Nathan thought about it. "But my mom raised me to be. . . polite. I can't change who I am."

"Tut, tut, tut," Paul wiggled his finger. "Who your _mom _made you. You have to make yourself. Not someone else, but _you_."

Nathan blushed. Now Paul was starting to make him feel like a momma's boy. "Let's say I had to chose who I wanted to be. What if I liked the way I am? What if I don't want to be some kid in a gang? I'd rather be polite and well known for the good things I do—rather than the bad things I do." He stared into the ocean while he made his speech, marveling the sundown.

Paul was silent beside him. Nathan looked up, wondering if he'd fallen asleep, and to his immense surprise; Paul was staring at him with one raised eyebrow, somewhat impressed.

"You know what, now you're ahead of Collin," he said, confusing Nathan once more.

"Pardon me—I mean," he flushed, "huh?" The huge boy next to him shook his head, and reached out to ruffle Nathan's head. Nathan was surprised when a laugh tore out of his mouth, and fought against Paul's strong arms. "Don't do that! You'll mess it up!"

A booming laugh escaped Paul. "I didn't know you were a beauty queen."

"I'm not," huffed Nathan.

"_Sure._" Paul taunted with a smirk.

"Anyways," Nathan said, trying to get the subject away from his hair—he just didn't like his hair to be messy. Can anyone blame him? "You were saying something about me being ahead of Collin?"

"Oh yeah, that." Paul sighed, staring off into the horizon. "Well, I have points for people I like and dislike. The one that's on top of my like is—obviously—my girlfriend, Rachel." He sighed a bit dreamily, and got this far off expression on his face. Nathan stared at him for a couple of seconds, waiting for him to continue. When a few minutes passed by, Nathan decided to catch Paul's attention.

"Er, Paul?" He waved a hand in Paul's face. "Paul!"

Paul broke out of his trance. "Huh? Wha—?" He looked around, and glared at Nathan when his eyes settled on the younger boy. "Why'd you do that?" he muttered.

"Because it's rude when you ignore people." Nathan smiled, rolling his eyes at himself. He just said that to see Paul's reaction. He wasn't disappointed.

Paul groaned, throwing his head back. "I'm gonna have to work extra hard on you."

"I don't understand."

"I'm gonna make you cool," Paul elaborated. "And less of a teacher's pet."

"I'm not—"

"Yeah, yeah. Not a teacher's pet. Whatevers."

Paul stood up, and cocked his head towards the wood's direction. He furrowed his brows, and sighed, looking at Nathan with a grim expression. "I have to go," he told Nathan. "Go home. Now. I don't think your ma' would like it very much if you came home late."

Nathan nodded, he too, standing up. He stared up at Paul, opened his mouth, but Paul cut him off.

"Oh, and tell your mom you got hit by a door. That always used to work for me," he grinned down at Nathan, a hint of boyish-ness showing through. Nathan smiled back, not having thought of that.

"Thanks, Paul," he said sincerely.

"No problem. What is Paul for? Helping little boys with green eyes called Nathan, around."

"I'm not a little boy!" Nathan muttered indignantly. "Buffers."

"Buffers? I actually like that for me. . . Buffers, huh." Paul tested it out, enjoying the annoyed look on Nathan's face. He pushed Nathan lightly, towards his house, and muttered a low, "Go home. See ya' around."

"Bye." And then Nathan began to walk away, thankful towards Paul for giving him a clue as to what to tell his mom.

He stared at the reddish sky while walking, frowning. It seemed today was the first time he was going to lie to his mom.

What other lies would he tell her?

* * *

**A/N: First things first! You all know how Paul said, "A little birdie _showed_ me." ? Nathan somehow thought Paul said, "_told _me" ._. xD I wanted to see if anyone thought Nathan was unobservant. He was a bit distracted, hahha.**

**Also, I wrote the Paul/Nathan scene first, 'cause I don't know, Paul and Nathan's friendship just yearned to be written. Also, Paul's and Nathan's time was highly important for the plot! Watch out! Lol.**

**READ MY BABBLE IF YOU WANT ;P**

**Oh my God, I was watching the battle scene in Breaking Dawn Part 2 for the millionth time, and still, I _cannot_ stop crying when Seth dies, and Leah howls and she's calling for Jacob, but stupid Jacob won't come because. . . I'm literarily crying right now D: WHY DID SETH DIE? WHY DID LEAH DIE?! WHY DIDN'T JACOB GO BACK! WHO THE HECK CARES ABOUT RENESMEE! _PACK COMES FIRST_!**

**Omg Leah risked her life to save Esme D: **

**Anyways, can I get 5 reviews _or_ even better: _more_?! :D It would cheer me up! Sort of. Poor Seth and Leah. . . and Sue D: I mean, I know it was just a vision. . . but _still_! And Carlisle?! I loved how he jumped up to protect Alice, and then Aro kills him, and then the battle begins because _Carlisle _dies. I was like. . . BOO-YAH! But the Leah & Seth and Jacob abondoning them part upsetted me ;\**

**NOTE for my _Platinum _readers: I will be updating that one soon! Sorry for the lacking, I'm trying my best! :D**

**REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It has been brought to my attention that some of you don't like Kristen. Well, you _can_ like her, or you _can't_. She seemed really mean in the last chapter, eh? Well. . . Just read the story! Kristen plays a major part in the story! Even though she's a conceited female-dog ._. **

**I'm glad most of you enjoyed the Paul & Nathan scene! I re-read it too, and was amazed that I wrote that 'cause I liked it too, hahha.**

**Thanks for the following FIFTEEN Reviews! I'm glad people are liking Euphoria! Thank you so much! Here's a virtual cookie to the following reviewers (and to people to at least gave Euphoria a chance :} ):**

_**14natbug**_

_**Somewhat Enlightened**_

_**anon1**_

_**Embrace1another**_

_**Aileen**_

_**wildedge**_

_**littleditto**_

_**stoneslay96**_

_**Sunshine-Midnight123**_

_**Ghost312**_

_**Leateddmonsterbear**_

_**twixxy-dee**_

_**Boo**_

_**Guest**_

_**Alexa**_

* * *

**Chapter Six:**

Leah was running around the woods, keeping watch—she tried not to think of Nathan, who she hadn't seen for a week now. So far, her heart didn't ache as much as she expected it to from being away from her imprint. She would have been peaceful, if it weren't for the fact that Paul was patrolling with her, teasing her about Nathan Harper, her imprint. He kept on sending her images of Nathan's purple eye—it made Leah's wolf whimper and her human self get a little angry.

He was currently showing her an image of Nathan staring up at him with an admirable expression, his green eyes wide. _See, he respects me. Which means you should follow his lead. _Paul said, and he sent Leah an image of him smirking. _Aw, poor kid though. Doesn't know how to fight. Look at his purple eye. . . I have a lot to teach him._

_What are you gonna teach him— _Leah broke off once seeing the images play out in Paul's head.

She saw what Paul intended to teach Nathan; How to pull pranks on guys. How to fight. How to defend himself. How to get girls. How to be cool. How not to be a. . . teacher's pet. And then Paul showed her an image of Nathan crossing his arms and looking defensive, saying, _"I'm not a teacher's pet." _

_Ooh that kid cracks me up! _he laughed._  
_

Leah growled. _Shut the hell up._

_Aw, someone's mad? _Paul cooed. _I'm sowwy Lee-Lee._

_I said shut the hell up, Paul! _she snarled, and sent him an image of burning all his food in his house.

Paul gasped, seeing that Leah wasn't bluffing about doing that to his poor food. _Don't you dare, _he growled seriously. _I'll tell Nathan to hate you._

The last thing any imprinter wanted was for their imprint to hate them. But Leah laughed off Paul's threat, and said, _Go ahead. Like he'll actually hate me because _you _say so._

_He has to, _Paul muttered. _I'm his teacher. I boss him around now._

Even though Leah wanted to retort something back, something had caused her to stop and sniff the air, making the hairs on her back rise. She growled, _Leech._

The smell of bleach was distant, only a little. But it was enough for Leah and Paul to grimace in disgust, and make their noses seem as if they were on fire. Before any of them could react, the smell got stronger, and they faintly heard something feather-like hit the ground very quickly. They had expected to only hear one pair, that of the blonde leech named Nora, but they were unpleasantly surprised to find out that there seemed to be two other pairs running with her—they assumed it was Nora—and the bleachy smell was getting stronger.

_We got to call the others, _Leah thought to herself.

Paul snorted, but cared for his nose. He tried not to breath too much. _Duh_, he said. _I _know _that.__  
_

_I wasn't talking to you! _Leah growled, frustrated. She veered her head straight up, into the sky, and let out a loud, clear howl that pierced through the night. It echoed in the woods; it was both a warning and a threat. The warning was for her pack mates—bloodsuckers were near, so they need to protect their lands. The threat was aimed towards the leeches. The howl showed that power, and to not mess with their lands.

Embry was the first to enter the mind link. He seemed alert, and was searching through both Paul's and Leah's minds to know what was up. He could smell the leeches, and faintly hear them, but he wasn't sure how many were coming. Leah and Paul thought three were coming._  
_

_Yeah! _he cheered. _Some more action for Embry man!_

_Shut up_. Both Leah and Paul muttered.

Leah sighed. _Paul, Embry, come with me. We need to start heading straight towards them. They can't get nearer—we need to drive them away. With or without the others._

_Who said _you _were going to order us around? _Paul grumbled, and began to run after Leah. Embry complied to Leah's orders, knowing she knew what she was doing. He ran after the two, his focus alert and eager.

The others were beginning to appear. Sam was second, then Jacob, Jared, Quil, and so on. Seth, Collin, Brady, Nelson and Derrick were excited, almost jumping in happiness at finally getting able to get some of the action the older one's seemed to be hogging from them. Jared even told them to shut up because they were getting _that _annoying with their bickering and chattering.

_Three leeches? _Jacob said, raising an eyebrow. _I want Seth, Brady and Collin patrolling the village._

_Aw! _All six whined.

_The rest of us, follow Leah, Paul, and Embry. Quil, stay with the youngsters, _Jacob advised. Quil didn't protest. Actually, he agreed to it happily. He didn't want to run much, anyways, and didn't want "glory". What for?

Paul laughed. _Losers!_

Wind whipped on all their furry faces as they ran. Leah jumped over a fallen log, and smiled, knowing she was way ahead of the others. Paul and Embry had fallen behind, and Paul was muttering stuff in their heads about how she was being a show off. Leah merely smiled at these thoughts.

They were getting close, Leah noticed, because the bleach smell was getting stronger in her nose. It took everything in Leah's power to not flinch away from the smell, and bury her head deep into the damp ground to stop inhaling that horrid smell. She also noticed that one pair of feet was very light, while the other pairs were heavier. Perhaps they were stronger, bigger, like Emmett Cullen.

_Be careful, Leah, _Sam ordered softly, a bad habit of his. He couldn't help himself, but use that authoritative tone on them—that privilege belonged to Jacob now.

Leah was pleasantly surprised to find that her heart didn't act weird when Sam said her name. It was as if something heavy had been taken off her shoulders, and she can breath fresh air now. She was free, but handed over into something she was destined to listen to, to be with; her imprint. She wasn't sure if that was bad, but she remembered how good Nathan made her feel, and she decided that imprinting wasn't at all _that _bad. It helps mend a broken heart.

_It can also break one. _Sam couldn't help from thinking. He found his thoughts being with Leah, and how heart-broken he was when he imprinted on Emily. . .

Leah growled, _Get out of my head._ She knew nobody from the pack couldn't—they can all hear one another's minds, delve into their most kept secrets. Everything was out in the open, whether they wanted to or not.

The awful smell was awfully close now, and Leah was in the lead, followed my Jacob, Paul, and Embry. They could hear the leeches' footsteps louder now, now that they were so close. And then they appeared, right in front of Leah, running side by side like a Trio. The same leech as before, Nora, was in the middle, being flanked by two huge leeches, both unnaturally handsome.

Jacob ran past her, shocking her for a second, not knowing how quickly he had gotten here. Paul and Embry dived past her too, lunging towards the leeches.

It took one second for Leah to get back into the present, and go back into action. Her muscles burned with determination—she was going to get payback for last week, when that blonde leech almost broke her arm. She flexed her arms as she leaped forward, after her pack members, and after the leeches.

_Come on Embry! _Paul growled. _You almost had her!_

Embry missed biting into Nora's arm by inches.

Embry was annoyed. _Why don't _you _get it, then! _he yelled, furious with Paul.

Jacob foresaw the conflict. _Stop. We have something in front of us, and I won't let you ruin it by fighting. Now focus!_

Leah smirked internally when both Paul and Embry grumbled silently in their heads, but she ignored them, because something seemed strange. . . now that she saw the leeches, Leah wondered why she had come back, knowing there was about twelve wolves of so prowling around in the woods, ready to strike; it was as if she was looking for something, and had come back, but with back-ups.

Seeing her thoughts, Jacob nodded. _She must be after something._

And, why would they come at night? They did not think that Leah and the rest of the wolves would be out? If so, they were incredibly stupid.

With every ounce of longing, her strides began to get quicker and longer. She was right behind Jacob, and ahead of Paul, Embry and the others. She saw the leeches right ahead, and saw Nora point back to them, and pushed the male leech to her right, back. The male had dark hair, and it was huge—probably bigger than Emmett himself.

He turned around, and there was no sign of dimples when he pulled back his lips into a snarl.

Both Jacob and Leah snarled back, and headed straight at it, barring their sharp teeth at it. There was a flicker of panic in the leech's face, and it seemed as though it was going to turn around, and run away, but it didn't. Instead, it ran head-on at them lunging at Jacob first—it made sense, since Jacob was bigger than Leah—making both Jacob and the leech fly into the air, landing onto the floor with a loud _thmph._

Leah raced past the two, after the other two leeches. Embry hanged back to help Jacob, while Paul followed after Leah, almost grudgingly as he did so. She made no move to wait for him, and for once, Sam nor Jacob reprimanded her about it; to slow down for one of her pack mates. She ran with swiftness, dodged trees that blocked her path. It was a game of cat and mouse, fun, but annoying.

_Damn_, Paul growled. He was looking ahead—rather than the leeches, which Leah was avidly doing so—and saw the clearing ahead. Everyone could hear the sound of the waves clashing against the cliffs. . . They all knew they couldn't just go out. There was a faint smell of smoke near by, and there was a flicker or reddish, orangish light off in the distance. Someone was camping.

Leah cursed under her breath, not knowing what to do.

_Don't go, _Sam advised. He had barely reached Jacob and was now helping tear off a limb from the leech. The leech screamed in agony, and Leah winced, not from pity, but at how horrible the sound was to her ears.

_I know that. _Leah replied curtly, halting. She stopped under the cover of the trees, and watched as the leeches walked into the beach, like an everyday thing. They walked quickly though, and the other male that was with Nora turned his head, as if hearing the screams from his friend. It seemed as though he was going to turn around, and come for help, but Nora growled something too quiet for Leah to hear.

Humans were camping in the beach, and Leah couldn't help, but think: Who would camp at night?

Paul stopped beside her, pawing at the ground. _Filthy bloodsuckers!_

She couldn't agree more.

Bloodsuckers _were _filthy.

Leah didn't know what to do. She was beginning to get anxious—or her wolf was—seeing how close the humans were to the leeches, and how neither Leah nor Paul could do anything about it. She cursed at herself, and she too, began to paw at the ground, trying to think up a plan.

And then it came to her; it was reckless, and risky, but what else where they supposed to do?

Jacob, seeing her plan, sighed. _It's the only thing left, Leah. We have to. _He phased back to burn the ripped-apart leech.

With new found determination, Leah sprang forward, Paul right behind her.

The leeches heard them, of course, turning swiftly around to look at them. Their eyes widened, for they had not thought that the wolves would risk themselves for a fight. They had already lost one companion, and they certainly did not want to loose one another. They needed each other to get out of this—ironically—alive.

Screams issued from the mouths of the campers, once Leah and Paul sprang out into the open. The sound disturbed Leah. Did they not realize they were trying to help them!

But Paul and Leah ran, uncaring, towards the seemingly cold "humans". They opened their mouths wide—Paul a bit too wide—and charged.

What the leeches did was probably reckless and idiotic for them too, because they ran for it—they ran in their supernatural speed. Their destination seemed to be towards the ocean, where they would surely out run the wolves; Leah and Paul wouldn't be able to swim fast enough. Their only chance at getting them was to chase after them, and get them. That was the plan both Paul and Leah unconsciously agreed on.

Her paws touched soft sand, but she couldn't pay much attention to how soft it felt. She had a task on hand, and that was to capture the leeches. They couldn't hurt anyone anymore if they were finally _actually_ dead.

And then something changed; Nora froze, and so did Leah.

A familiar—_so_ familiar—smell hit her nostrils. Panic like never before, rushed into Leah's system. And for a moment, she forgot all about the leeches, and the humans she was supposed to protect—because Nathan was here.

She could smell him perfectly, aside from the ocean smell, and the bleachy smell. She could smell his so seemingly familiar honey-minty-sun scent. _He's here, _Leah thought in panic, turning her head left to right, dread filling into her system.

_Who?_ Jacob phased back, and then he became alert. _Look for him, Leah. Paul, we'll be right behind you._

Paul nodded his head, running towards the male leech who stood next to Nora, a look of confusion dominating his face. _Go. I smell him too, _Paul sighed. _He's an idiot. But breaking out of the house at night _does _make him seem cool. . . Chicks dig that. . . Oh, c'mon Leah! After your pretty boy!_

Leah didn't need to be told twice—though she ignored the pretty boy part. She scouted the beach with her eyes, trying to look for her imprint. She could _smell _him, she was sure it was him. How could she not? Then why the hell couldn't she find him!

His scent was strongest to her right, so she began running towards that direction.

_To hell with secrecy,_ Leah growled.

Then she saw it; Nora was moving towards her right, too. The look on her face made Leah both panic and angry. Did she smell Nathan, too, and wanted to get to him before Leah did? Did she want to hurt him, to show Leah not to mess with her? As the questions circled around her head, making her more furious than ever, Leah leaped to her right, growling.

Nora breathed in the air, and almost shuddered in delight. The scent that met her nose was so exquisitely wonderful. Not the best she'd smelled, of course, but certainly one of those rare, good scents that sang to her. Without a conscious thought, she began to run towards the direction of the scent, uncaring that she was running at full speed in front of many humans. The smell would make her go anywhere.

She was unaware of the same silver wolf leaping into the same direction. The scent pulled her, called to her like a lullaby. Not exactly, but still. It was until last second—diving side-ways from the wolf and hearing the pathetic fearful screams of the humans—did she notice the silver wolf. She barely managed to avoid it, and keep her direction. She wouldn't let the wolf distract her.

"Can't stay away from me, can you?" she asked sweetly, smiling mockingly. "Want me to end you for reals, this time?"

The wolf merely charged, like last time. It barred it's teeth, and Nora being so confident that she could dive to the left in time, found out that she couldn't. The wolf bit into her left arm—Nora did not feel pain. It was more like. . . like being drowned, and needing something. . . not necessarily air, but something. . . The feeling of her arm being ripped away was unpleasant.

Her right arm smacked into the wolf's head.

_Hard_.

It yelped loudly, slightly letting go of Nora, but not quite. It was determined to pull her arm off, despite the pain. Nora couldn't have any of this; she needed both her arms. So she smacked the wolf even harder, effectively making the wolf pull away, yelping in pain.

_Nathan. . . _Leah thought, _Nathan. . ._

_LEAH! _Seth yelled, and out of nowhere, he was running towards both Leah and the leech, snarling. _LEAH!_

She managed to respond, despite the pain that invaded her thoughts. _What are you doing here, Seth! _she growled. She was satisfied. At least she can speak—think.

But Seth didn't respond. He launched himself onto Nora—who just stupidly stood there, checking her arm—making both of them tumble onto the ground. Leah shook her head, trying to focus. Her brother needed her.

_No I don't! _Seth called cheerily, biting aimlessly into the air.

But then Nora pushed Seth off of her, making him soar into the air. He landed a few yards away with a yelp, and Leah was too focused on her brother to notice Nora slip away, towards the direction of the scent.

It was the perfect opportunity to catch the human with that mouth-watering scent. As she ran towards it, she saw no one. No one was standing on the place. _No one_!

This frustrated her beyond belief. She let out a yell of outrage. "Was this a trick?" she yelled to no one in particular. "How—how dare you all fool me—!"

Leah looked over at Nora, eyes widening. She had reached the spot were Nathan's scent was strongest. Seth, hearing her thoughts, stood up, barring his teeth.

_Let's go Lee! But I don't think Nathan's here. . . But then, why is his scent here? _Seth worried as both Leah and himself ran towards Nora. Leah being a bit more quicker than Seth, reached Nora first.

Though Nora was already running, and she was holding onto something red.

"Victor!" she yelled, a satisfied smile on her lips. "Let's go!" She ran towards the cliffs, and flung herself onto the ocean—and every human being who witnessed this screamed once more in terror. Her bloodsucker friend threw Paul off of him, and raced towards the cliffs with such speed, Leah could barely see his movements.

And then he too, flung himself onto the ocean, and began to swiftly swim away.

_Got. . . Away. . . Again. . . _The thoughts formed in Leah's head slowly, and then there was relief; _Nathan isn't here! _She almost sang in relief, her body relaxed for a second, knowing that her imprint was safe. Her muscles weren't as tense as before, the relief was flooding into her system. . . She almost felt happy, too.

Embry yelled, _They—they got away AGAIN! _his tone was disbelieving. He didn't blame anyone, but he was shocked that the other two leeches, Nora and Victor, got away. And then he was laughing inside their heads, _Ironic, isn't it? The other leech's name is Victor! Get it, Victoria. . .?_

_No one's paying attention to poor Embry Call_, Leah snickered. Everyone was far too busy acknowledging the fact that the leeches had managed to get away from them.

_We've seriously lost our moves, dudes,_ Brady sighed, shaking his head. _And you said you were the best, Paul—yet you couldn't fight off that one vampire?_

Paul snorted. _I was easy on him, you little punk. _

_Surrree, _Brady thought.

_Dang, Lee! We have to get out of the beach! _Seth remarked suddenly, pushing Leah towards the direction of the woods. She had forgotten they were surrounded by humans; a stupid thing for her to forget.

She quickly made a dash for the woods, followed by Seth and Paul.

Her mind was distracted. She couldn't rub off the bad feeling that had started to develop on the pit of her stomach, and the dread that once more, entered her system. _Something's wrong_, she thought to herself. _But _what _exactly?_

_It's probably nothing, Leah,_ Jacob said to comfort her. _Alright, listen up everybody! Me, Embry and Sam our going to patrol, meaning you can all go home. _

Everyone cheered.

It was a perfect opportunity to visit Nathan, whether it be the middle of the night or not. She _had _to make sure Nathan was safe. After all, she wasn't completely positive he actually was okay. The dread began to multiply quickly, when she imagined Nathan lifeless, pale. . .

_Better go check on him_, Jacob advised. _He's fine, though. _He tried to reassure her, and Leah couldn't help, but feel thankful. He was one of her pack-mates that didn't really bother her much. They were close, like a brother and a sister.

Leah hesitated, now rethinking her decision to go check on Nathan. _It can wait, _she told herself furiously. _No need to go and wake him, his mum, and his sister,_ she told herself, trying to convince herself so she wouldn't go take a side-trip.

Her wolf was being stubborn, though, and was set on visiting Nathan to make sure he was alright. It was anxious—making Leah get anxious too.

Seth piped up, _Just go, Lee._

Leah was struggling. _No. . . he must be alright. . . But I can just go and check. . ._

With that in mind, Leah figured it was her _duty _to check on Nathan. He's her imprint, therefore it's her responsibility to check on him. Paul snickered at her in the background, and Sam frowned at her, while Jacob and Seth told her to go. She wasn't sure if she should feel frustrated or embarrassed with all of them. In the end, she settled for frustration.

Didn't they all realize she had no choice? Imprinting bound both Leah and Nathan together—she hated that strong connection, a bit, but she knew she was going to have to deal with it. After all, she was going to marry him. . . someday.

She ran as quickly as she could, trying to reach the border line of the trees where she would phase back and dress into clothes. She was getting both jumpy and excited now; she was probably going to see Nathan again after going a week without seeing him. Why hadn't she seen him. . . She honestly forgot.

Perhaps it was because she didn't want to feel clingy with her imprint, as were the other imprinters. She wanted to show the others that she wasn't _that _bound to Nathan like they were. She was still her, Leah Clearwater.

A slight little problem had bugged her the whole week: What if she was hurting Nathan by being apart? She highly doubted that. . . yet she couldn't help feeling guilty. It wasn't his fault that she was bound to him. . . well, it was a little. They both locked eyes at the beach, tying them together for eternity. She could deal with that—it guaranteed happiness for her.

Sounds followed her as she ran, and she tried her hardest to ignore Jacob's, Sam's, and Embry's thoughts. She focused on the sounds of the woods, of the animals, and her destination that she was approaching.

Once she was at the borderline of the trees, the familiar sensation of hot water falling down on her and a shiver running down her whole body overcame her as she phased back into her human self. Fresh wind hit her naked body, and she was quick to get the bag hanging off her left leg, and dressing herself. The cold wind didn't bother her, but the thought of being naked in the woods was rather unpleasant to her.

Finally dressed, she stood in the shadow of the tress, unsure if her decision was correct. . .

"It is," Leah told herself strongly. "It is."

Convincing herself that it was the right thing to do to make her worries vanish, she began to walk towards the path, her eyes looking around, her ears alert for any unfamiliar sounds. Though she had nothing to fear. Jacob, Sam, or Embry would howl to warn everyone that leeches are near. Even then, Leah's natural instinct told her to look around her surroundings, just to make sure there was no danger near by.

Scowling at herself, she grumbled, "I don't act _that _much like an animal, do I?"

Crickets cricketing answered her.

If she had been normal, she would have been trembling from the cold winds. But alas, she wasn't normal. She changes into a wolf that hunts down vampires and phases when she's extremely mad. If she were human. . . she wouldn't be walking in the middle of the night, alone, towards a thirteen year old's house just to make sure he was safe. . . If she were human. . .

_. . . If_.

Leah Clearwater wasn't completely human, though. So why ponder on what she would be doing right now if she were human? It was unnecessary, and bit frustrating, too, to know that being a wolf changed her in so many ways. There was pros and cons in not being just human, but she wishes she were human; she would live a normal life.

Now she couldn't. At least, not now, with bloodsuckers reappearing.

So she walked on, thinking. She was so distracted, she didn't even notice she'd arrived at Harper's residence; she noticed they lived close to the Blacks. She wondered to herself how she knew where Nathan lived, but decided to just ignore it. Thinking wasn't doing her much good at the moment.

"Just ask whoever opens the door if Nathan's here. . ." And then she was groaning. What will Nathan's mom think? A nineteen year old girl showing up on her doorstep in the middle of the night, asking for her thirteen year old son? Leah willed herself to move, to leave, but she was already here. Why leave?

Taking in a deep breath, Leah raised her right fist to the door, and knocked three times—loud, to catch their attention. She was doubting herself again, but stayed put on her spot, and waited.

There was some shuffling on the other side of the door. Leah braced herself, thinking up lines to tell Nathan's mom why she was here. The door opened, and it revealed Kayla Harper. She looked tired, sleepy, and it made Leah feel uncomfortable knowing that she had caused this woman to get up. Kayla was staring at Leah with a worried expression; confusing Leah. Shouldn't Kayla be confused, shocked, alarmed? Certainly Kayla would at least ask why Leah was here?

"Leah," Kayla began, furrowing her brows, "is something wrong?"

Leah shook her head, and made an effort to smile at the woman; she shouldn't give her a heart-attack. "No, I was just wondering. . . if I can speak to Nathan?"

Kayla's eyes softened, confusing Leah further more. "Oh," she said quietly. "He's been. . . rather anxious lately, you know? He's been mumbling a lot in his sleep—saying your name."

At this, Leah's heart jumped. Nathan had been saying her name in his sleep?

"Oh," Leah murmured, unsure of what to say.

"Yes," Kayla sighed. "I think it would be good if he saw you—even if it is this late," she chuckled, and invited Leah in.

Stunned, Leah walked into the house. Immediately, could she smell Nathan's honey-minty-sun scent. Unconsciously, she inhaled in his scent with one, long inhale, and closed her eyes. She reopened them to find Kayla staring at her, and with a small smile on her lips—as if worried about something.

Kayla sighed then, and shook her head. "Well, I'll go fetch Nathan right now. Night hun—and please make sure the door is locked after you leave. Thanks."

It startled Leah at how much Kayla was trusting her. She only nodded, agreeing, and watched her leave the room they were in.

Leah sat down on the small couch, and waited. She was nervous, and she cursed at herself for feeling that way. Why should she feel nervous? She was just going to see Nathan, see if he's safe, and then leave—that's that.

There was some shuffling, and then Nathan was there, with a flushed face and eyes wide.

Both locked eyes, brown and green.

Nathan held his breath, not willing himself to blink. This must be a dream, he told himself, Leah couldn't be here, in his house in the middle of the night, asking to see him. He stared at Leah—heart racing quickly, threatening to burst—and tried to convince himself that this was a dream.

Leah cleared her throat, eyes still locked with his. "Hey, Nathan," she said softly, her eyes finally looking away from his, and stared around his face. Her face turned relieved suddenly, leaving him confused.

Both stared at one another again, and Nathan realized she expected him to speak. Blushing furiously, he began to fumble with his hands, and said, "H—hey L—leah."

A sigh escaped Leah's lips as her brows furrowed, and the relieved expression on her face quickly left. A guilty look overcame her face, and she grimaced as she studied his face. This caused him to blush some more. He must look horrible. Dang. He had been in such a rush to come and see Leah, he hadn't cared how messy his hair was.

Leah accessed his face. He had bags under his eyes, but other than that, he seemed okay. Yet she couldn't help feeling guilty—perhaps it was her fault that he couldn't sleep. Her eyes traveled to his messy hair, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

"How are you?" she asked him, and Nathan flushed.

"Fine. You?" he asked, frowning. She must have had a reason to come; not just because she wanted to see him.

She gave him a weak smile. "I'm okay." Seeing the silence that was sure to follow, she added in, "So, how's school?"

He smiled, showing his dimples. "It's awesome. Amy—you remember her?" he asked, and Leah nodded. "Yeah, well, she's smart. She helps me with my homework—I suck at Algebra," he grumbled, and Leah laughed.

"You just need to study more, Nathan." she said simply. "I used to have trouble with it too, but I studied, and it was easy."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah I am studying with Amy and Dean—he's my other friend. He made me join the basketball team; The Wolves. I like the name," he said cheerfully, and sat down on an arm chair. He seemed to be himself more, now that he was talking to Leah.

Leah raised an eyebrow, curious. "Why?"

"Well, wolves are my favorite animal. I especially like silver or grey wolves—I think they're the most beautiful."

Suddenly, Leah found herself staring at Nathan with wide eyes. "Y—you do?" Her wolf was jumping with joy, and a wide smile threatened to spread across her face.

"Yeah." He smiled, and sighed. "I've been dreaming about this silver wolf, and it keeps me up at night. . ." he trailed off, lost in his thoughts. Leah felt her wolf jump once more in delight; but she was confused, and slightly shocked.

"That's weird," Leah murmured. How could he possibly know the color of her wolf?

Nathan looked up, and flushed. "You must think I'm weird, huh?"

"No," Leah said softly. "Just interesting, and captivating."

Now Nathan was blushing. "Y—you're _more _interesting and captivating," he said quietly, staring at Leah from under his lashes. He began to play with his fingers again, nervous. He stared down at the floor, thinking what he should say next. Then decided to ask, "Is something wrong, Leah?"

She sighed. "No, not anymore. I just had to come and check something; I thought I, uh, saw you in the beach. So I was worried and wondered what you were doing there, and when I went to look for you, you weren't there—so I came here to check if you were fine. And, well, you are," She gestured to him, "so I guess I should leave now."

He frowned. "Oh," he said. He was glad she came; it seemed as though something inside of him could breath again—it was though something inside of him that couldn't breath, now could. It was odd, but he ignored it. He was staring at Leah for the first time in a week; it was great.

His eyes watched Leah stand up, and a small smile was on her lips. "Sorry for waking you up," she apologized quietly.

"It's fine," Nathan said quickly. "Don't worry."

Both began to walk towards the door, and then Nathan had an urge to ask something. "Are Seth and Paul okay? I haven't seen them either," he worried, frowning.

Leah's smile widened, and she rolled her eyes for some unknown reason to Nathan. "Seth's fine, and Paul. . . I don't know about him—he's an idiot, though." She smirked down at Nathan when he chuckled. "Don't listen to everything Paul tells you, okay? I don't want you turning into some big-headed, arrogant guy," she said softly, staring into Nathan's eyes. She really didn't want him turning arrogant. He was fine the way he is.

"I won't," he promised, smiling.

As she was walking out, a sudden idea popped into Leah's head. "You know, you can see them tomorrow, if you want." She looked down at him, pursing her lips. "We're having a bonfire, and we're telling our tribe's stories, tomorrow night," she lied. Perhaps she should go over to Emily's, and ask for her to arrange a bonfire. "I bet you haven't heard your tribe's stories."

"Nope!" he said cheerfully. "That would be awesome!"

She smiled. "Okay. I'll probably come and fetch you," she said. "There won't be enough room for your sister and mom, though," she added in quickly, frowning. No outsiders could hear their stories. Bella Swan happened to be the only exception, she thought bitterly.

"Oh." He pursed his lips. "I'll tell my mom later, Leah. I want to come," he said softly, smiling up at her again, and showing off his dimples.

"Alright, well, goodnight Nathan." She closed the door after her.

"'Night," she heard Nathan murmur behind the door.

His heart was beating quickly, and for the first time in a week, he knew he was going to have a good night at last.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Took two days to right (I rewrote it). Anyways, yup, Nathan is Nora's singer (his blood calls to her). It's not the _best _scent she's ever come across, but one those scents she can't resist. She couldn't look for Nathan because, well, the wolves were tracking her down—and she doesn't wanna die.**

**Sorry if this was late! I just wanted to update this on the day of my Birthday, lol. Which reminds me!**

**Can I get more than 7 reviews (or More!) for my birthday!? It would be like the best present EVER! :'D Also, it would also be amazing if you checked out my new Paul/OC story; _Dynamic _. **

**REVIEW!**


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